DECISION

APPROVING THE STRATEGY FOR MERCHANDISE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS BY 2030

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015; the Law on Amending and Supplementing certain Articles of the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Local Government Organization dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 99/NQ-CP dated August 30, 2021 on issuance of the 2021 - 2026 Government’s Action Program for implementation of the National Assembly’s Resolution on the five-year Socio-economic Development Plan during the period from 2021 to 2025; 

Upon the request of the Minister of Industry and Trade,

HEREIN DECIDES

Article 1. Approving the strategy for merchandise exports and imports by 2030 (hereinafter referred to as Strategy), covering the following basics:

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1. Embark on the sustainable import and export development on the basis of coordination in commodity structure, market structure and trade balance with each market and market area; coordination between short-term and long-term goals; coordination between opportunities to participate in and enjoy the fruits of import and export growth; coordination with green trade, fair trade, environmental, biodiversity conservation and adaptation to climate change.

2. Develop import and export of goods in association with investment in development of economic – technical infrastructure, science - technology, digital transformation, development of digital economy, development of the green, sustainable and circular production system, and improvement of the quality of human resources. Increase the innovative and creative content in exported products; build and develop trademarks of Vietnamese goods for export.

3. Develop import and export in line with sectoral and local development planning schemes and plans in order to promote competitive advantages, effectively exploit opportunities, limit the impact of challenges arising from the implementation of economic integration commitments, and participate more deeply in the global supply and value chain.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives

Ensure sustainable development in a balanced and harmonious structure; bring more competitive advantages; develop the brand name of Vietnamese goods; improve the country's position in the global value chain; become the driving force of fast and sustainable economic growth.

2. Specific targets

a) Stable growth, healthy and reasonable trade balance.

- The average growth rate of commodity exports is expected to reach 6-7%/year in the period of 2021 - 2030, including the average export growth rate in the period of 2021 – 2025 which is expected to be 8-9%/year; the average export growth rate in the period of 2026 – 2030 which is expected to be 5-6%/year.

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- Maintain the trade balance in the period of 2021 - 2025; strive to maintain a sustainable trade surplus in the period of 2026 - 2030; look forward to a healthy and reasonable trade balance involving key trade partners.

b) Sustainable development with a balanced and harmonious product and market structure

- Increase the proportion of goods in the export processing and manufacturing industry to 88% of total export turnover by 2025 and 90% by 2030; including, the export proportion of medium and high-tech goods which is expected to reach about 65% by 2025 and 70% by 2030.

- Increase the proportion of exports into the EU market to 16 - 17% of total export turnover by 2025 and 18 - 19% by 2030; into the American market to 32 - 33% of total export turnover by 2025 and 33 - 34% by 2030; into the Asian market to about 49 - 50% by 2025 and 46 - 47% by 2030.

- Increase the proportion of imports from the EU market to 8 - 9% of total export turnover by 2025 and 10 - 11% by 2030; from the American market to 8 - 9% of total export turnover by 2025 and 10 - 11% by 2030; decrease the proportion of imports from the Asian market to about 78% of total export turnover by 2025 and 75% by 2030.

III. ORIENTATIONS

1. Orientations towards merchandise exports

a) General orientation

- Develop the export subsector in a sustainable manner, bring into full play its competitive advantages, shift to a rational in-depth growth model, effectively use resources, protect the ecological environment and successfully address social issues and problems.

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b) Orientation towards development of merchandise exports by industries

- Merchandise exports in the agriculture, forestry and aquaculture industry: Increase the proportion of products created by deep processing systems and of high economic value; improve the ability to meet quality, food hygiene and safety regulations, standards and corporate social and environmental responsibility criteria; proactively adapt to and overcome trade barriers and trade remedies in overseas markets.

- Merchandise exports in the processing and manufacturing industry: Increase the domestic content of exported goods, reduce dependence on imported raw materials, spare parts and components; increase the proportion of products in the medium- and high-tech industry; rapidly increase the proportion of exported products with high technology and innovation content.

- Discourage the development of production and export of resource-intensive and environment-polluting products; make more investment in developing export of green and eco-friendly products.

- Detailed roadmap and steps:

+ 2021 – 2025 period: Increase the rate of processing of key agricultural and aquatic products having production and export advantages, concurrently building and developing typical brands of Vietnamese agricultural products; increase added value of labor-intensive and highly competitive products, such as textiles, footwear, electronics, and products in the medium-tech manufacturing industry.

+ 2026 – 2030 period: Develop new products with high added value; deeply-processed agricultural and aquatic products; products created in the medium- and high-tech manufacturing industry, and by applying achievements of the fourth industrial revolution; products of the supporting industries.

2. Orientations towards merchandise imports

- Actively adjust the growth rate of merchandise imports; control the import of domestically produced goods, luxury goods, non-essential goods, and control the quality of imported goods.

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3. Developmental orientations towards export and import markets

- Diversify markets, avoid excessive dependence on a single market; strive for a healthy and reasonable bilateral trade balance ensuring sustainable growth in the long term.

- Effectively exploit market opening opportunities from economic integration commitments in free trade agreements to boost exports into major markets, such as EU, Japan, China, and South Korea, ASEAN...

- Robustly exploit potential markets, such as the United States, Russia, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, India, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America..., and aim to build stable and long-lasting trade frameworks.

- Continue to restructure the import market with a view to reducing the proportion of imports from low-tech and intermediate-technology markets, and increasing the proportion of imports from source technology markets.

IV. APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY

1. Enhance production, thus creating a sustainable supply of products for export

a) Boost the industrial production

- Restructure industries associated with digital transformation, especially in the processing and manufacturing industries, aiming to create a breakthrough and a new impetus for the production and export growth.

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- Effectively implement industry development planning schemes; strategies, planning schemes and projects on investment in development of industrial parks and industrial clusters; strategies, schemes and plans to build centers for the supply of raw and input materials.

- Promote the research and application of technologies, innovate the production management process in order to improve the productivity, quality and competitiveness of exported products, with more emphasis on the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution (e.g. artificial intelligence, big data, IoT, 3D printing, new materials,...).

- Remove barriers in legislation, economic and financial policies for science, technology and innovation activities; encourage investment projects and researches on new materials, production and export of eco-friendly products and products with high innovation content.

b) Boost the agricultural production

- Implement the agricultural restructuring plan in association with digital transformation, development of the digital economy, green and sustainable production, tourism and cuisine.

- Adopt agricultural production development policies tailored to specific tiers of key products: (i) National products; (ii) Local products; (iii) OCOP products; policies for development of concentrated raw material production areas that apply advanced technical processes to processing of agricultural products for export.

- Strengthen linkages and promote the roles of farmers' organizations (e.g. agricultural artels, cooperatives) in the development of value chains involving bringing products from production, procurement, preservation, processing to market access, ensuring the harmony of interests between the stages of production, processing and export of agricultural products.

- Develop preservation technologies to increase the added value of processed agricultural products; robustly deploy and use traceability systems for agricultural and aquatic products for export.

- Enable local authorities to play more roles in selecting appropriate agricultural products to form concentrated production areas according to the planning scheme; develop strategies to develop key products, typical agricultural products, and develop brands aligned with quality and food safety standards that are conformable to international standards.

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- Build, strengthen and develop economic and trade cooperation relations with other countries through the effective implementation of commitments in free trade agreements; negotiate Free Trade Agreements with partners obtaining consent from the Government, with more emphasis on partners having large market capacity and are willing to open their market to Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products, on a reciprocal basis; conduct feasibility studies on negotiating and signing preferential trade agreements with a number of potential new partners.

- Better and raise the capability of market monitoring, research, forecast and reporting of potential or latest changes in trade policies and non-tariff barriers in export markets.

- Stimulate Vietnamese enterprises to directly participate in product distribution networks in the international market.

- Take more measures to support the protection of intellectual property and geographical indications of Vietnam's potential export products in key foreign markets; enhance communication, propaganda and training activities related to intellectual property for import-export enterprises.

- Formulate complete regulatory policies and mechanisms for trade promotion activities. Consolidate the organizational structure and improve capacity of the domestic and overseas trade promotion networks in order to promote trade promotion at the government, industry, local and corporate levels.

- Implement export and import promotion plans according to strategic orientations towards development of products exported into or imported from key markets and priority products over time. Innovate and diversify trade promotion methods for imports and exports by means of accelerating the application of information technology and digital transformation in trade promotion activities, and effectively combining trade promotion activities with investment, culture, tourism,...promotion activities. Focus on building and developing brands of potential exports and export processing industries of Vietnam.

3. Formulate complete regulatory framework, strengthen state management towards the implementation of import and export activities in order to facilitate trade, combat trade frauds and strive for fair trade.

- Carry out the institutional reform, business investment environment improvement, administrative reform, and competitive environment establishment.

- Accelerate the development and application of national standards in harmony with international and regional standards, including technical standards, product quality standards, social and environmental standards.

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- Operate monetary and exchange rate policies in an appropriate manner in the new context, aiming for public disclosure, transparency and sustainability.

- Strengthen inspection, supervision and handling of environmental protection violations arising from import and export activities, acts of trade fraud, origin fraud and evasion of trade remedies.

- Formulate complete policies and legal frameworks on trade remedies; consider amendments to relevant legal normative documents in the trade remedy sector, or study the formulation of the Law on Trade Remedies.

- Ensure social security and justice when performing import and export activities; promote green growth and sustainable import and export development.

4. Mobilize and effectively use resources for export development, upgrade logistics infrastructure, and strive to reduce logistics costs

- Call for large and multinational corporations’ investment in export production projects, preferably large-scale projects with modern technologies, highly competitive products and the ability to participate in the global value chain.

- Develop and complete sets of secondary or postsecondary-level outcome benchmarks for training of human resources in export production industries and sectors to strive to have access to the standards of developed countries in the world. Strengthen ties between vocational education institutions and manufacturing or exporting businesses from the stage of training program design, training program provision, and assessment to job creation.

- Build the capacity of national testing organizations, certification bodies, laboratories satisfying international standards in place for assessment of conformity with national standards, international standards, regional standards and special standards for exported goods.

- Upgrade road infrastructure, warehouses, storage facilities and seaports; develop various types of logistics services, reduce logistics costs, and increase the application of information technology in logistics.

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5. Manage and control imports to fully meet the needs of domestic production and strive for a healthy and reasonable trade balance

- Improve regulatory institutions and improve capacity for trade remedy investigation agencies; strengthen the efficiency and inter-sectoral coordination mechanism in the process of handling trade remedy cases; boost training, communication and propaganda activities concerning trade remedies for state regulators, businesses, associations and other related organizations.

- Improve the economic efficiency of import-substituting product manufacturing industries; gradually lower protective barriers so that businesses can proactively develop their own investment strategies according to the tax reduction roadmap, increase the innovation of new equipment and technology, and put pressure on domestic manufacturing enterprises so that they improve their economic performance, reduce costs, and create products that can compete with imported goods.

- Enhance the management and quality control of imported goods by means of measures to be taken in line with international commitments.

- Adopt policies to encourage competitive import through the bidding mechanism, preferably machinery, equipment, high technologies, basic raw and input materials that cannot be produced, or can be produced domestically but inadequately.

- Carry out import promotion activities; call for investment from a number of key partners, especially those that can help Vietnam strengthen its technological capacity, and develop a healthy and logical trade balance.

6. Enhance the role of industry associations and nucleus enterprises in promoting the formation of large-scale export value chains

- Develop private enterprises, support export enterprises to overcome barriers and trade remedies in foreign markets.

- Strengthen the connection between foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises, creating spillover effects so that there will be more business partnership or cooperation for mutual development purposes.

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V. FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STRATEGY

Funding for implementation of the Strategy shall be derived from the following sources: state budget, capital of enterprises, grants, financial aid and other lawfully mobilized funds as prescribed by law. In particular, the state budget shall provide partial funding, depending on its funding availability. The state budget funding for implementation of the Strategy shall be subject to regulations of the Law on State Budget, the Law on Public Investment and regulations on decentralization of authority over the state budget funding that are in force.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Based on the objectives, orientations, solutions and sets of solutions of the Strategy approved in this Decision, the Strategy for Development of commodity industries and the relevant National Programs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall assume the prime responsibility for, and cooperate with other ministries, central and local authorities and industry associations in, developing the action plan for implementation of this Strategy, clearly identifying tasks of ministries, central authorities, agencies, and completion deadlines and resources for implementation; seek the Prime Minister’s approval at the beginning of the third quarter of 2022.

2. Based on the objectives and orientations of the Strategy and the Action Program for implementation of this Strategy, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall guide ministries, central authorities and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to develop action plans for implementation of this Strategy according to its functions and authority.

3. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall assume the prime responsibility for, and cooperate with relevant ministries, central authorities and the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities in, implementing the Strategy; periodically evaluating the implementation of the Strategy every 5 years; giving recommendation to the Prime Minister to seek the Prime Minister’s decision to modify the objectives and contents of the Strategy where necessary.

Article 2. This Decision shall enter into force from the signature date.

Article 3. Ministers, Heads of Ministry-level agencies, Heads of Governmental bodies, Presidents of People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces, other organizations and individuals involved shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

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PP. PRIME MINISTER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER




Le Van Thanh