Export import

At an international border gate in Lao Cai. — VNA/VNS Photo

The export and import of goods and services via the Lao Cai International Border Gate in Lao Cai Province stood at nearly US$950 million in the first quarter of this year, up 75 per cent year-on-year.

Exports surged 63 per cent to about $406 million during the period, mostly yellow phosphorous, dragon fruit, mangos, watermelons, and bananas.

The province has targeted total exports-imports of $4.6 billion this year, up 30 per cent year-on-year.

The Lao Cai International Border Gate is one of eight major border economic zones receiving State budget funds for development during 2021-25. The province is working to expand its border economic zone to 16,000ha, with priority given to infrastructure, investment attraction, and logistics.

The provincial customs department is improving its working efficiency to save time and costs in handling administrative procedures, realising the Government’s resolution on key measures to improve the business environment and national competitiveness in 2020 and a provincial decree on measures to boost local exports-imports.

It is also working to improve satisfaction among businesses, conduct drastic and synchronous administrative reform in various areas, and adopt modern technology to ensure the smooth operation of automated customs clearance and e-customs systems. — VNS

The blockage in the Suez Canal is hampering Asian exporters and importers

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) recently announced that in case the Ever Given remains unmoved, ships will have to travel around the Cape of Good Hope, extending their journey from Asia to the EU by two weeks, significantly accumulating transport costs.

“Along with COVID-19, the incident has also increased shipping expenses, affecting export-import activities between Vietnam and the EU,” said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

As of now, the MoIT is directing the Vietnam Trade Office in Egypt to keep track of developments related to the Ever Given, and keep local importers and exporters updated.

“Cargo ships transporting goods to the EU and the East American coast had to bypass Africa, extending transport costs and time significantly,” said a representative of the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

Xuan Thinh Service JSC specialised in trading petroleum items said that it has not received overseas orders due to the incident. “For days now we could not supply dealers.”

The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container ships, on March 23 ran aground while travelling through the Suez Canal on the way from Asia to Europe, causing a blockage and hampering hundreds of cargo ships.

Vietnam stands to shoulder significant damage from the hold-up. In 2020, Vietnam’s export and import turnovers to the EU reached $43.7 billion and $18.5 billion, respectively. Over this year’s first two months, the corresponding figures were $7.5 billion and $3.1 billion, up 18 and 12 per cent, on-year.

Exports surged 63 percent to around 406 million USD during the period, mostly yellow phosphorous, dragon fruit, mangos, watermelons, and bananas.

The province has targeted total exports-imports of around 4.6 billion USD this year, up 30 percent year-on-year.

The Lao Cai international border gate is one of eight major border economic zones receiving State budget funds for development during 2021-2025. The province is stepping up planning to expand its border economic zone to 16,000 ha, with priority given to infrastructure, investment attraction, and logistics.

The provincial customs department is improving its working efficiency to save time and costs in handling administrative procedures, realizing the Government’s resolution on continuing with key measures to improve the business environment and national competitiveness in 2020 and a provincial decree on measures to boost local exports-imports.

It is also working to improve satisfaction among businesses, conduct drastic and synchronous administrative reform in various areas, and adopt modern technology to ensure the smooth operation of automated customs clearance and e-customs systems.

Source: VNA

Decree No.18/2021/ND-CP amends and supplements several articles of Decree No.134/2016/ND-CP dated September 1, 2016 stipulating in details the implementation of the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty.

Under Article 29a of Decree 18, the determination of goods eligible for import or export tax waiver should be made based on the types and quantities of goods specified in a treaty; or confirmation documents issued by the agency proposing the signing of or joining a treaty or a specialized management agency in case the international treaty does not specify the categories and quantities of goods.

In case an international treaty does not specify categories and quantities of goods subject for duty exempt, organisations and individuals using tax-free goods must make written requests to the agency proposing the signing of or joining a treaty or a specialized management agency to confirme the categories and quantities of such goods.

Within 15 days from receiving the request, the agency must reply with documents confirming the categories and quantities of goods eligible for duty exempt or refusing the confirmation in case the mentioned goods are not covered by the international treaty.

Decree 18 will take effect on April 25, 2021.

Source: VNA

The development of Vietnamese-made COVID-19 vaccines is progressing well

Four Vietnamese pharmaceuticals have been racing to produce COVID-19 vaccines since last year, with three already showing promising results in pre-clinical and clinical trials.

The vaccines are being researched by Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (Vabiotech), the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (Polyvac), the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC), and Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC (Nanogen).

Vabiotech, IVAC, and Nanogen have all shown promising results.

To date, Vietnam has developed two potential vaccines. Of these, Nano Covax by Nanogen has entered the second phase of human trials conducted at Vietnam Military Medical University and the medical centre of Ben Luc district on February 26. The trial focuses on evaluating antibody discovered in the first phase and searching for other antibodies against the new SARS-CoV-2 variants in the UK and South Africa. By May, the results will be sent to the National Ethics Committee in Biomedical Research of the Ministry of Health.

Meanwhile, Covivac by IVAC has officially entered into the first phase of human trials in March-October this year after successful pre-clinical studies on animals. Nguyen Ngo Quang, deputy director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Science, Technology and Training, said that if the trial produces good results, the second phase will be implemented with a larger sample size.

Besides, the Covid-19 vaccine by Vabiotech is expected to begin human trials next month. According to chairman of Vabiotech Do Tuan Dat, this vaccine could be modified quickly to combat new coronavirus variants if successfully developed.

Expectations of bringing the “Made in Vietnam” vaccines to the international market are fully grounded as the nation is one of the 40 countries running COVID-19 vaccine trials as well as the 38 nations whose vaccine management agencies fulfil the World Health Organization’s standards for a fully-equipped national regulatory system, creating opportunities to partner up with overseas partners especially in exporting vaccines.

According to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Vietnam does not aim to be a leader in vaccine production but will inherit the world’s experiences in dealing with the new SARS-CoV-2 and focus on standard cold storage. Many existing vaccines, including Pfizer-BioNTech from Germany and Moderna from the US, need to be preserved and transported at temperatures between -80 and -20 degrees Celsius. This can affect delivery schedules due to the lack of specialised equipment. Meanwhile, Vietnamese vaccines can be stored at a normal refrigerator temperature of 2-8 degrees Celsius, according to Vietnam Military Medical University.

The Vietnamese vaccines could also help alleviate the supply-demand issues surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 84 of the world’s poorest countries will not have enough COVID-19 vaccines to inoculate their populations until 2023.

Not even developed countries can guarantee that all of their populations will be fully vaccinated by the end of 2021, despite successfully producing vaccines, with Russia falling a year and a half behind its initial vaccination schedule, based on statistics released by Moscow.

Despite reports of side effects, foreign covid vaccines are proving effective and continue to be improved. According to ABC News published on March 25, 2021, researchers examined data from the employee health record system at the University of California, San Diego and University of California, Los Angeles showed that of the 36,659 workers in California vaccinated, 379 tested positive, mostly within two weeks after their first shot. 37 people tested positive almost less than a week after their second dose. Only seven health workers tested positive 15 days or more after their second vaccination.

Medical experts emphasise that vaccinated people may still be positive as the vaccine is not 100 per cent effective.