VIETNAM – LOCAL REGULATION COULD LEAD TO EU-VIETNAM TRADE HINDRANCE

1. VIETNAM – LOCAL REGULATION COULD LEAD
TO EU-VIETNAM TRADE HINDRANCE
Under Circular No.28/2012/TT-BKHCN dated 12/12/2012, before the products are circulated on the
market, the manufacturer must declare the products’ standard conformity (Declaration of Standard
Conformity). A component of the application dossier for the Declaration is the assessment result of
standard conformity (“Assessment”). Under Circular 28, this Assessment can be carried out either by
the manufacturer themselves or a third party registered certifying organization.
On 31 December 2019, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued Document No. QCVN
19:2019/NKHCN on National Technical Regulation on LED lighting products (Document 19). Article
3.4 of Document 19, the Declaration of Standard Conformity must be based on the assessment results
issued by a certification body that has registered its field of operation as prescribed in local regulations.
It has been brought to our attention that these certification bodies charge around USD 700 for each
model testing. From 2022, under Decision No. 1383/QD-BKHCN dated 22/05/2020, there will be two
additional tests required for the Assessment, thus it is expected that the price payable by
manufacturers/distributors will increase to USD 1500 for each model of product.
Importers of LED lamps have been furious with the new Regulation, as they believe local certifying
organizations do not have the capacity to assess EU-imported products, assuming that such products
have not yet been certified in accordance with EU standards. Importers also feel that the Regulation has
resulted in importers have to incur unreasonable additional fees. We examine this instance in light of
the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement
Under Article 5.3.2 of the EVFTA, Vietnam has the right to prepare, adopt and apply standards,
technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in accordance with the EVFTA and the
TBT Agreement.
Article 5.5 (Standards) reads that With a view to harmonizing standards on as wide a basis as possible,
the Parties shall encourage their standardizing bodies as well as the regional standardizing bodies of
which they or their standardizing bodies are members to avoid duplication of, or overlap with, the work
of international standardizing bodies. Some exported products may already undergo Assessment of
standard conformity in their origin country. As a result, requiring imported products to undergo another
local one may be considered as repeating the work.
In addition, under the EVFTA, Vietnam also affirmed its obligation that fees imposed for mandatory
conformity assessment of imported products shall be equitable in relation to any fees chargeable for
assessing the conformity of like products of domestic origin or originating in any other country,
considering communication, transportation and other costs arising from differences between location
of facilities of the applicant and the conformity assessment body. Importers of LED lamps could make
a case if it could be established that the charges applicable to imported products are higher than those
manufactured locally.
In general, it could be said that Document No. QCVN 19:2019/NKHCN on National Technical
Regulation on LED lighting products does not comply with provisions under the EVFTA in the sense
that it constituted a Technical Barrier to Trade upon Vietnamese importers. Consequently, it would
hinder LED lighting products export from EU countries.
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

2. Under the CPTPP, Vietnam has the right to apply the same or equivalent procedures, criteria, and other
conditions to accredit, approve, license, or otherwise recognize conformity assessment bodies located
in the territory of another CPTPP Party that it might apply to conformity assessment bodies in its own
territory. Moreover, the CPTPP also explicitly does not preclude Vietnam from verifying the result of
conformity assessment procedures undertaken by bodies located outside its territory.
As a result, it could be said that under the CPTPP, the provisions applicable to LED lighting importers
allow for local regulations like Document 19.
Both the EVFTA and the CPTPP require Vietnam and other parties to the agreements to establish local
Contact Points for matters arising under their chapters. It is recommended that importers or traders that
are negatively affected by Document 19 should voice their concern to such Contact Points, who have
the responsibility to handle your matter by working with the relevant governments in light of the
EVFTA and the CPTPP.
For more information on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the author Dr. Oliver Massmann
under omassmann@duanemorris.com. Dr. Oliver Massmann is the General Director of Duane Morris
Vietnam LLC, Member to the Supervisory Board of PetroVietnam Insurance JSC and the only foreign
lawyer presenting in Vietnamese language to members of the NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF
VIETNAM.