Increased compliance costs, greater legal risks, and the potential for delays in export flows – these are warnings from Vietnamese trade attachés in major markets.

Increased compliance costs, greater legal risks, and the potential for delays in export flows are warnings from Vietnamese trade attachés in major markets such as the United States, the European Union (EU), and Japan – markets that account for over 70% of Viet Nam's total export turnover.

In today's global trade landscape, even minor changes in technical regulations, rules of origin, or border controls can drive up costs, prolong customs clearance times, and increase the risk of disputes. These challenges force businesses to shift from competing "on price" to competing "on standards" and the reliability of their supply chains.

It took three years for Viet Nam's pangasius fish to receive a final anti-dumping ruling from the US market. During this waiting period, many orders to the market, which accounts for over 30% of Viet Nam's seafood exports, were forced to shrink, prices were pressured down, and long-term contracts were virtually frozen. This is not an isolated case, and many other products such as frozen seafood, wood, textiles, and energy batteries are also facing warnings and potential trade defense lawsuits from this market.

Mr. Do Ngoc Hung, Viet Nam's Commercial Counselor in the United States, stated: "In the event of anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigations, we always stand by businesses, introducing them to legal consulting firms and working with US authorities to ensure timely and complete explanations and information provision."

Besides anti-dumping lawsuits, businesses also face increasing technical barriers as major export markets raise their standards in the coming period. Vietnamese businesses will have to bear more costs for quality control, traceability, and inspection. Even a small mistake can cause a shipment to be held up, leading to additional costs and reducing the efficiency of the order by about 10-15%. This shows that, in the new context, if quality is not improved and control is not done well from the outset, compliance costs will become a major obstacle to exports.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Quan, Viet Nam's Commercial Counselor in Belgium and the European Union, shared: "We pay special attention to product quality standards, as well as residue levels. Because currently, our goods are popular in the European Union, but that doesn't mean they are popular to the point of exceeding EU standards. They have very strict quality control. Therefore, they also strengthen general supervision for all countries with high growth rates."

Mr. Ta Duc Minh, Viet Nam's Commercial Counselor in Japan, stated: "When exporting, we must provide relevant food safety and hygiene documents and contact the Japanese authorities to submit samples and specify the required quality standards."

A common thread among demanding markets is that the more exports there are, the higher the requirements. Businesses not only have to invest more in clean production and quality control, but also allocate greater resources to technical documentation, testing, and risk management.

Thus, it is clear that this year will not only be about increasing or decreasing export turnover, but also about restructuring the market. Vietnamese businesses can only maintain and enhance their position if they proactively expand their "market space," diversify partners, and improve the quality and added value of their products, instead of relying on cost advantages or a few familiar markets.

Source: VTV

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