HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Authorities should closely monitor the import andexport of goods, including goods origin, to prevent customs declaration fraud,a semi🍒nar heard in HCM City recently.

With the US-China trade war escalating, Chinesefirms could ship their unfinished products to Vietnam and then export them tothe US through a Vietnam-based firm as an intermediary to avoid tariffs, Ngo VoMinh Hung, business director of VIFON, warned. This would affect Vietnam, as evidenced by thecase of steel originating in China but exported from Vietnam, he said, notingthat the US Department of Commerce had decided to slap tariffs on steelproduced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin materials. With the trade war causing difficulties forChinese firms in exporting to the US, they would increase exports to othercountries, including Vietnam, putting big pressure on local producers, he said. Hung called on related agencies to bettermonitor imports and exports to prevent the import of poor quality products andcustoms fraud. Bui Quang Tin, CEO ofBizLight Business School, said Vietnam was the only market among the US’s fivetrade partners with which it had a high trade deficit but had not imposedtariffs yet. But that could still happen, he warned. If the US imposed punitivetariffs, the impact on the Vietnamese economy would be huge since the countryhad an “open” economy, he said. Su Ngoc Khuong, investment director of SavillsVietnam, said the trade dispute between the US and China, two of Vietnam’s toptrading partners, could have both positive and negative impacts on the country. When Chinese products are hit with US tariffs,Vietnam can serve as an alternative supplier of several goods to the US, hesaid, adding that other countries such as Thailand withsimilar products as Vietnam also see it as an export opportunity, leading to anintense competition to sell to the US. Vietnam’s seafood industry can achieve highergrowth if it grabs the opportunities that might open up when the US switchesfrom China to other sellers, he said. The seminar also provided some useful tips forVietnamese companies to help them avoid risks in international trading andsuggested measures to boost exports to the US and China like carefully studyingthe markets, working with retailers and distributors there and others. –VNS/VNA