Impact of cross–border e-commerce on vietnam's economy

Nội dung text: Impact of cross–border e-commerce on vietnam's economy

1. IMPACT OF CROSS–BORDER E-COMMERCE ON VIETNAM'S ECONOMY Ph.D Nguyen Thi Thuy Hong1 – Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy2 Abstract: E-commerce is currently a global development trend. In the 4.0 era, smart devices are an indispensable assistant for each individual. Along with the rapid development is the remarkable growth of the e-commerce industry. At the same time, this is also the original basis for the development of cross-border e-commerce. Cross-border e-commerce is an online trade between a business (retailer or brand) and a consumer (B2C), between two businesses, usually a brand or wholesaler (B2B) or between two individuals (C2C) on multiple transnational exchanges. It can be seen that this is an industry with enormous potential and also plays a significant role when contributing to the overall economic development of the country. In Vietnam, the trend of developing cross-border e-commerce is also one of the strongest development directions in recent years. Keywords: E-commerce, cross-border. In recent years, the breakthrough growth of e-commerce has made Vietnam one of the most potential markets in ASEAN. Vietnamese businesses and consumers are facing tremendous opportunities from the 4.0 industrial revolution. However, in addition to these significant developments, e-commerce in Vietnam also faces many challenges and barriers. These will likely have a significant impact on the economy not only in Vietnam but also globally. There may be positive effects but may also have negative impacts on the economy, so it is important to consider the essence of the future, possibilities and practical plans to be able to satisfy the needs of the economy. 1. SOME REASONED ISSUES ABOUT CROSS–BORDER E-COMMERCE Cross–border e-commerce is a mixture of e-commerce and foreign trade between countries. At the time, cross–border e-commerce means international online trade or in other words, the selling or purchasing of goods made over the Internet. Buyers and sellers who are not in the same country and are generally not governed by a national authority, can use different payment currencies and speak different languages, perform delivery of goods using cross–border courier services or postal services to end purchases. The targets of cross–border e-commerce are also tangible commodities exchanged in the form of exports and imports across national borders. In fact, with the shock of Covid–19, cross–border e- commerce has created new opportunities from the demand side (changing customer purchasing preferences against the e-commerce industry, related to e-commerce transaction models for both exports and imports, including: B2C business model (Business to consumer: business to sell to consumers through major e-commerce exchanges such as Amazon, Alibaba, EBay or through online sales websites of construction enterprises); B2B business model (Business to Business: businesses that sell goods to one or more other businesses or multiple businesses that provide goods to one business or multiple purchase businesses, many sold through e-commerce exchanges, e-commerce transaction centers (HUBs) or B2B e–marketplaces; B2G business model (Business to Government: businesses selling to the Government or government to buy from foreign businesses through e-commerce exchanges, websites, HUB transaction centers) and C2C business model (consumer to consumer: both 1 National Economics University. 2 Master Student 29th Course International Economics. 67
2. buyers and sellers are individuals in two countries using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Linkedin, MySpace and they use to send goods in the form of mail or gifts, gifts ). The outstanding benefits of cross–border e-commerce have been pointed out and verified by research works in the early stages in EU and North American markets where there are sufficient conditions to ensure the expansion from domestic e-commerce to cross–border e-commerce such as: Security in payment, quick customs clearance procedures, quality logistics services, reputable buyers and sellers. Then as a follow–up to the strong growth of cross–border e-commerce in Asia–Pacific, the Middle East, with the development of the international business of Alibaba, Amazon has relations to e-commerce exchanges between countries. The outstanding benefits of cross–border e-commerce compared to traditional international trade are: breaking space and time of buying and selling (24/7/365 and purchasing wherever there is internet), reducing time and financial costs, convenient payment, expanding market supply and demand, fast delivery, the right people, the right place; be able to return goods and exchange quickly if quality is not guaranteed as committed. The Covid–19 epidemic offers new opportunities from market demand on the basis of changing consumer buying habits, moving from traditional buying habits to e-commerce purchases. Experts say this is a positive impact and a golden impact on e-commerce in general and cross–border e-commerce in particular. To advance according to the demand, it takes a lot of time to shift the mindset, behaviour and practices of engaging in e-commerce of customers, companies and the Government. Since the Covid–19 outbreak broke out with policies of social expansion taking place on a scale in most nations, and in the long run, it has pushed supply and demand parties to rapidly obtain access to e-commerce and to explore and leverage its superior interests. 2. STATUS OF CROSS–BORDER E-COMMERCE WITH VIETNAM'S ECONOMY 2.1. The context of Vietnam's economy in 2020 From the beginning of 2020 to now the outbreak of the Covid–19 epidemic has been comprehensive, far–reaching and tends to have dynamic and unforeseeable trends. The political climate, the global economy and the country have experienced many swift and challenging shifts. Climate change, natural disasters, flooding, landslides, thunderstorms, epidemics have taken place in many places. In the event of a complex Covid–19 epidemic, which has a serious impact on the economies of countries around the world, international organizations and financial institutions all see a deep recession in global economic growth in 2020. Forecasts of world economic growth, the Organization for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD) said that the global economy will decline by 4.5% in 2020; Fitch Ratings and Oxford Economics forecast world GDP growth in 2020 to be both down 4.4%. For some major economies, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts China's growth to reach 1.8%; The United States fell 5.3%; eurozone fell 8.0%; Japan fell 5.4%; Indonesia fell 1.0%; Malaysia fell 5.0%; Thailand fell 8.0%; The Philippines fell 7.3% and Singapore fell 6.2%. In opposition to the bleak economic picture of the world, our economy continues to achieve positive growth as GDP in the 9 months of 2020 increases by 2.12%, of which the first quarter increases by 3.68%; the second quarter increased by 0.39% and the third quarter increased by 2.62%. This shows that our country's economy went through the bottom point of the economic recovery graph in the second quarter. Although it is the lowest increase of 9 months in 2011–2020, Vietnam is the only country in ASEAN and in the few countries in the world to achieve positive growth; at the same time is 68
3. a rare bright spot in the world economic picture 9 months of 2020. This result has affirmed the correctness in the direction and administration of economic recovery, disease prevention and control and the determination and consensus of the entire political system, the Government, the Prime Minister; the efforts of the people and the business community to effectively implement the goal of "both disease prevention and socio–economic development". International organizations monitoring Vietnam's economy have not hesitated to give Vietnam words, such as "rare bright spot" or "new wonder". Although the above assessments are encouraging, equally important are the risks, or notable issues that come with the above forecasts. In other words, while being happy with the initial results, we also need to look at how Vietnamese observers actually thought about making their forecasts. Although 2020 is the year with the worst economic growth rate in many years, Vietnam is actually the few countries with positive GDP growth. In the context of the epidemic, the recovery of Vietnam's economy shows that the progress comes from internal forces. October data from the General Statistics Office showed that important sectors of the economy such as manufacturing and trade in services continued to prosper, increasing by 8.3% and 6.1% compared to the same period last year, accordingly. It is important that these indicators have been constantly on the rise from the sharp decline of the blockade period, raising the belief that the economy has gone through the most difficult period. 2.2. Analysis of the status of cross–border e-commerce in Vietnam in 2020 Vietnam is situated in the Asia–Pacific zone, which has the highest growth rate of cross–border e- commerce worldwide. Over the years, the country's overall share of the region has gradually risen to an average of 41.3%/year and an annual growth rate of 37.7%/year, higher than the global average of 27.4%/year for the period 2014–2020. Vietnam's total turnover and e-commerce growth rate also increased rapidly in the period of 2014– 2020. Statistics of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM, 2019), the market value reached $ 4 billion (2015) and 7.8 billion USD (2018), forecast 13 billion USD (2020) higher than the target of 10 billion USD according to the government's plan for the period 2016–2020. The average growth rate is over 30% per year, expected to reach USD 33 billion (2025) and ranks third in Southeast Asia after Indonesia (US$100 billion) and Thailand (US$43 billion) (VECOM, 2019). Cross–border e-commerce appears and grows rapidly in the past period mainly in the form of imports of goods through e-commerce orders on Amazon, Alibaba e-commerce exchanges or social networks such as Facebook. In fact, exports of goods through cross–border e-commerce tend to increase through the participation of businesses in the world's major e-commerce floors (about 1,000 businesses participate on Alibaba and about 200 participate on Amazon; businesses have also built their own sales website pages to introduce and sell products). However, when the Covid–19 epidemic occurred globally there was a major impact on e- commerce in general and cross–border e-commerce in particular. According to the survey, cross– border e-commerce has fluctuations in both sales growth and scale, however, the reality is that the trend increases over the same period of 2019. The fastest up trend occurs in middle eastern countries, where the Covid–19 epidemic spread from December 2019 to April 2020. Access from e-commerce businesses, Covid–19 epidemic has had a positive impact on the demand of the e-commerce market, increasing the demand for essential goods and masks, medical instruments and consumer goods that typically take place in the US and European countries. Proof: During the outbreak of Covid–19 in the US and European countries, people stayed at home due to the pandemic, which caused the number of online orders of e-commerce companies to spike, accompanied by a shortage of manpower to pack, sell, deliver to each person. On March 18, 2020, Amazon had to hire 69
4. about 100,000 additional employees to address the fact that its U.S. customers mostly switched to online ordering to avoid the spread from Covid–19. Amazon has paid double the wages of its overtime logistics workers. Specifically, Amazon spent an additional $350 million to increase wages for workers across the U.S., Europe, and Canada. Workers in the U.S. are paid an additional $2 an hour until the end of April. Staff in the UK are paid an extra £2 an hour, while workers in Europe are paid an extra EUR 2 per hour. Amazon's minimum wage is currently $15 per hour. For some countries in the Asia–Pacific market, e-commerce activity has changed sharply, declining sharply in January and February 2020 compared to the last months of 2019. The back growth trend has recovered in China and Taiwan at between 130% and 153% in March and April 2020. Other countries such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore, the recovery is slow and there are not many positive changes. In Vietnam, Covid–19 epidemic has had a strong impact on e-commerce in general and e-commerce in particular. According to a survey by iPrice Insights and SimilarWeb for the top 4 e-commerce platforms in the market, Tiki, Lazada and Sendo platforms had a sharp decline in visitor numbers over the same period and the last quarter of 2019. Only Shopee platform has decreased in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2019 but regained momentum in the first quarter of 2020 (VECOM, 2019) However, during the Covid–19 epidemic and most countries adopted social expansion orders, people were restricted access to shops and supermarkets for quite a long time. This has prompted not only consumers to make a significant change in purchasing habits from traditional commerce to online purchases on e–exchanges or websites, accelerating the digital transformation of e-commerce businesses, logistics businesses supporting in delivery to home. Mr. Gijae Seong – Director of Amazon Global Selling Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand said that Vietnam is a country with great potential to develop cross–border e-commerce thanks to its advantages in the manufacturing industry, abundant labor supply, with many young talents and a large network community. 2.3. The impact of cross–border e-commerce on Vietnam's economy in 2020 In recent years, Vietnam has become more and more deeply integrated, many FTA have been signed. In particular, the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA) has opened a new door and motivated the development of both the country's economies in general and exporters in particular. Businesses also quickly seize the opportunity to penetrate and expand export markets through e-commerce. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, about 32% of Vietnamese enterprises have established business relationships with foreign partners through online channels. In early 2020, the world faced a shock called Covid–l9. This global epidemic has had a negative impact on socio–economic development in general and the operation of businesses in particular. In this particular context, online sales channels play an increasingly important role, becoming one of the safest ways for consumers to shop for necessities as well as maintain production and business activities. A recent report published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) said that in the new context, e-commerce is not only a useful tool or solution for consumers in times of crisis, but also an economic motivation for the growth of domestic and international trade, thereby contributing to supporting small and medium enterprises. Economists say that selling through e-commerce floors is also one of the fastest ways for businesses to build their own brand, thereby bringing exports to the world especially small and medium enterprises, expanding business but not costing much investment, exporting through cross–border e- commerce, not only helps businesses promote the search for global partners but also has many opportunities to increase exports at low cost. 70
5. In the coming time, to support exporters of goods, the Department of Industry and Trade will implement many positive programs and solutions. Specifically, the Department will coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, supporting enterprises to find alternative raw materials for production and output markets. Support businesses to take advantage of incentives from new generation trade agreements such as CPTPP, EVFTA through the dissemination and guidance of implementation of these agreements. At the same time, connecting and leveraging the cooperation of Vietnamese enterprises abroad such as implementing city trade promotion activities with the participation of Vietnamese enterprises at home and abroad, focusing on markets with Vietnamese communities including usa, Australia, Russia, Eastern European countries, asean countries Especially focusing on promoting and improving the effectiveness of the implementation of trade promotion programs such as international exhibitions related to exports, focusing on fairs in France, Germany, Japan (under conditions of safety assurance). With a growth rate of up to 30% per year, sales of about USD 15 billion, cross–border e-commerce becomes an important channel for Vietnamese enterprises to access global trade, saving time, costs, promoting exports and imports of goods. In addition to connecting directly with customers, many small and medium–sized businesses have chosen to go to the international e-commerce floor. In addition, the promotion of global e-commerce helps businesses join new supply chains that replace traditional supply chains that are being disrupted or stalled due to the impact of the Covid–19 epidemic. At the same time, expanding and diversifying export and import markets, reducing dependence on a certain market group. Thanks to the positive impact of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 as well as the openness of economies, cross–border e-commerce is growing strongly. In that general trend, Vietnamese enterprises have also had quite a positive movement. Currently, our country has a number of enterprises participating in the global supply chain with very remarkable results. However, only about 11% of enterprises participate in e-commerce floors, 35% of enterprises establish relationships with foreign partners through online distribution channels. This is a modest number, because our economy is increasingly deeply and broadly integrated with the world. 2.4. The challenges ingested on cross–border e-commerce in Vietnam in recent years The problem poses in the post–Covid–19 era in the development of cross–border e-commerce in Vietnam. Whether the post–Covid–19 era takes advantage of the golden opportunity for cross–border e-commerce development in Vietnam no longer depends on policies and implementation policies to overcome the problems, key obstacles arising, to the execution of transactions (coupling supply and demand) and digital transformation, business strategies of existing e-commerce businesses are as follows: Firstly, the negative impact of Covid–19 has broken the cross–border supply chain (especially air transport is the main means of transport that has been paralyzed and other means of transport such as roads, railways and seaways also suffered a sharp decline), a decrease in the capacity of logistics companies (human resources, attitude, professionalism, psychology, finance) to support and provide delivery services in cross–border e-commerce According to a survey by the Association of Logistics Service Enterprises (March 2020) for 35 logistics service providers in Vietnam (18 enterprises representing the North and 17 southern enterprises), the impact of Covid–19 on these enterprises is very large on the above–mentioned areas. In addition, the digital transformation towards electronic logistics of companies (applying information technology to warehouse systems; automatic distribution lines or warehouse control software, real tracking and retrieval software in delivery) is still limited. 71
6. Secondly, the existing problems in cross–border e-commerce management in Vietnam that state agencies are facing and are looking for feasible solutions to solve but must be halted due to the Covid– 19 epidemic, these are: – Customs clearance mechanism for exported and imported goods in the form of cross–border e- commerce faces many difficulties when it is necessary to meet the requirements of rapid customs clearance, creating conditions for cross–border e-commerce, but at the same time must ensure the requirements of customs legislation. Practice indicates difficulties in determining the value, HS code of goods, origin of goods (determining tax rate), quantity of goods, documents attached to the customs dossier, such as invoices, transport documents, certificates of origin – Applying the product policy of specialized management ministries, checking product quality, food safety and hygiene for goods. The phenomenon of fraud, deliberately taking advantage of the duty–free policy in the form of gifts, gift violations of the policy of goods banned from export, import, or applying for import and export licenses also takes place in many customs sub–departments. – Implementing and applying the asean one–door and one–door mechanism has achieved certain results but has not yet integrated and solved problems related to cross–border e-commerce Customs procedures for cross–border e-commerce goods are applied at sub–departments still follow the same procedures as ordinary import and export goods, so it takes a long time and does not meet the expectations of consumers. The Prime Minister has issued Decision No. 431/2020/QD–TTg to approve the e-commerce management scheme for exported and imported goods. The Ministry of Finance is developing a draft decree and circular guiding, the General Department of Customs is continuing to develop the customs clearance process and the accompanying guidelines. Thirdly, the decline of customs clearance agents who provide entrusted trading services related to cross–border e-commerce, due to the impact of Covid–19. The main reason is that the fault of the relevant supply chain makes the suspension of the operation of the customs clearance agents also negatively affect the business of the agent. Fourthly, the implementation of connection programs between domestic e-exchanges, domestic import and export enterprises with major e-commerce exchanges in the world such as Alibaba, Amazon is slow compared to the plan set out such as training, dissemination of knowledge, skills, infrastructure, software to connect the business community to participate in the exploitation of e-commerce floors. Fifthly, for the B2B business model, although the awareness of the benefits of trading via e- commerce floor for businesses has improved, the situation of applying software systems related to electronic purchases at corporations and transport companies is still limited, mainly still applying purchasing activities in the form of traditional trade. Sixth, the government's support policies on taxation, social insurance and policies to encourage digital transformation in businesses participating in cross–border e-commerce in the post–COVID–19 era are still implemented slowly compared to the government's policy ideas. 3. VIEWS AND SOLUTIONS FOR DEVELOPING CROSS–BORDER E-COMMERCE IN VIETNAM IN THE FUTURE 3.1. Potential for cross–border e-commerce development in Vietnam Different from traditional commerce, cross–border e-commerce is both national and international. Therefore, just through the Internet, consumers can find out product information, order and pay with partners all around the world. Cross–border e-commerce not only creates opportunities for businesses to improve sales, but also seeks a flexible business model, cost reduction, and resource optimization to access the global supply chain. 72
7. Statistics show that in the period of 2014–2020, Vietnam's e-commerce growth rate reached an average of over 30% per year. It is expected that this market size will reach 33 billion USD by 2025, ranked third in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Thailand. This is also the motivation for businesses to seize opportunities, timely digital transformation for their products to international customers. Moreover, this can also promote goods and brands to hundreds of millions of purchase accounts in hundreds of countries and territories around the world. Cross–border e-commerce is a B2B (Business to Business) model that connects businesses wherever they can offer, find customers, place orders, sign contracts, and pay. In particular, strengthening cooperation and promoting cross–border e-commerce has brought many benefits in export promotion, brand development and making e-commerce a form of transaction with potential for development. In addition, joining these trading platforms also helps exporters directly reach customers around the world, thereby expanding access to global markets and reducing costs. However, according to analysis from experts, quality management and origin through cross–border e-commerce is not simple because there are low–value products, insufficient documents to prove the origin and quality that make customs clearing difficult. Therefore, each country has its own regulations on managing goods but still has in common the direction of simplifying administrative procedures to reduce warehousing time, product inspection and volume of goods to be inspected as well as simplifying the ordering, transaction and payment process. Particularly in terms of potential for cross–border e-commerce from abroad to Vietnam, the market has the following outstanding advantages: Vietnam e-commerce revenue ranks 3rd in the region, estimated at USD 2.8 billion and is forecast to reach $ 15 billion by 2025 (According to Google and Temasek). 49.8 million users participated in the purchase on e-commerce channels in 2018 (According to Statista). The number of orders processed per day amounts to more than 3 million (As announced by the Director general of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy) Average expenditure of USD 186 per year on online purchases (2017), equivalent to VND 4.3 million (According to the 2018 Vietnam E-commerce White Paper of the Ministry of Industry and Trade) In addition, cross–border sales from Vietnam to Southeast Asian countries are also full of potential. According to Google and Singapore Temasek Holdings, Southeast Asian e-commerce revenue will reach $240 billion by 2025. In addition, the report also indicates that Southeast Asia has become one of the fastest growing internet regions in the world. The market with more than 600 million people but e-commerce accounted for less than 4% of total retail revenue (data from Maybank) has made Southeast Asia a "gold mine" in the eyes of Alibaba bosses and global investors. Therefore, the cross–border sales sector is likely to grow strongly in Vietnam thanks to market potential, great efforts of e-commerce floors and changes in state policy. 3.2. Opportunities and challenges for transnational e-commerce in Vietnam 3.2.1. Opportunities for transnational e-commerce in Vietnam A review by the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) showed that cross–border e-commerce creates many benefits for both buyers and sellers. With the advantage of cost savings, helping to distribute directly to end consumers, cross–border e- commerce is suitable for small and medium enterprises. 73
8. Cross–border e-commerce benefits merchants, both retailers and brands, as they have the opportunity to expand their business especially with a growing economy. Domestic e-commerce retailers can expand their business and enter the market. They have the opportunity to sell products internationally. With a wide range of attractive products for end customers, sellers set foot in international sales without any geographical limitations. Higher demand for products leads to higher sales. Like a bullet, the seller has an seamless opportunity to penetrate the international market. When sellers start trading on the international market, they will be recognized and enhance their sales by establishing integrity with their target audience. Awareness goes ahead of selection and selection ahead of results! To see the big picture, you need to raise awareness of your brand. Offer products tailored to your customers' needs and requirements proportional to your brand awareness. Target audiences prefer authentication over priority, so start products that match the changing trend of product results for better brand awareness. "A satisfied customer is the most effective business strategy" –Michael LeBoeuf. If your customers trust the product you sell, they'll automatically develop confidence in your brand, which will help build good relationships with customers. Genuine, good quality products are offered at an affordable, competitive price that will facilitate customers who regularly shop with your brand. Cross–border e-commerce is a growing and emerging platform today, leaving its mark in the world of e-commerce. Therefore, sellers do not have to worry because their brand will exist in the international market with greater awareness and popularity among customers. So if you want a platform to increase business sales and overall profits abroad then cross–border e- commerce is a great way to reach international markets. Cross–border e-commerce will help you achieve success in other demographic markets with ease and high overall profitability. 3.2.2. Challenges for transnational e-commerce in Vietnam Because it is only in the early stages of participating in cross–border e-commerce, Vietnamese consumers and businesses in addition to facing difficulties in international logistics are still struggling because of many language difficulties, cultural differences as well as international payment In particular, paying 100% up front for an unfamiliar partner and using international forms of payment makes many shoppers hesitate. The percentage of Vietnamese who own Visa Card, Master Card is still very low, and many people still do not trust the security when paying internationally, so hesitate. Moreover, without the experience of choosing a reputable sales partner, the buyer may face many risks such as losing money, and have no guarantee on the goods." Another difficulty for shoppers is that the control and traceability of goods online is increasingly complex. As for businesses when participating in sales at international websites, the biggest barrier is not being familiar with the laws of the country, and not having a business strategy in accordance with consumer trends in each market. At the same time, the difference in the level of diversity and quality of goods between Vietnamese and foreign goods is still very large. Therefore, many businesses are still not really slick with cross– border e-commerce despite seeing that the benefits of this type of business are enormous. In addition, cross–border e-commerce is potentially risky. The situation of actively smuggling, selling counterfeit goods, intellectual property violations, the Standing Office of the Steering Committee of 389 countries has coordinated with ministries, branches and functional forces to survey and evaluate the situation of developing the thematic plan against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting in e-commerce activities to advise the Heads of the Steering Committee of 389 countries 74
9. to approve proposals solutions to help management agencies how e-commerce still develops but prevent smuggling, trade fraud, especially goods through e-commerce does not guarantee quality, counterfeit goods, intellectual property violations. 3.3. Some solutions for developing cross–border e-commerce in post – Covid–19 era in Vietnam Firstly, customs clearance support for exports and imports in cross–border e-commerce is the most urgent and important issue for cross–border e-commerce. Based on Decision No. 431/QD–TTg issued by the Prime Minister on March 27, 2020 to approve the e-commerce operation management scheme for exported and imported goods, it is necessary to quickly develop a draft decree and circular guiding the implementation of important orientation contents related to e-commerce for exported and imported goods. In addition, soon to prepare the draft state management process for goods traded through cross– border e-commerce. Specifically: – Develop customs procedures, how to determine customs value, determine the code of goods for goods traded through cross–border e-commerce. Basically, the business must comply with the Customs Law and international conventions to which Vietnam is a member. Due to the nature of e-commerce goods need to be done quickly and accurately on time, capable of refunding, customs procedures need to supplement and specify the above contents. The determination of customs value and HS code for goods in tax determination requires close cooperation with major e-commerce exchanges such as Alibaba, Amazon to have reference information on transaction prices and uniform goods code. – For specialized management policies, it is necessary to supplement regulations on exemption from licensing, exemption from conditions, exemption from specialized inspections in some cases worth goods under VND 1 million; it is necessary to integrate the contents into the component of the unified specialized management scheme for exported and imported goods, which is drafted by the General Department of Customs to be approved by the Government. However, it is necessary to specify the time limits for licensing and quality control as well as the integration of content into the implementation of the National One–Door Mechanism (NSW), the Asean One–Door Mechanism (ASW); it is also necessary to supplement the regulations on customs procedures for import and export goods through e-commerce stored in bonded warehouses, non–prolonged warehouses to ensure not only facilitating trade but also ensuring compliance with customs laws. – Develop regulations on operation of the customs electronic data system for goods exported and imported through e-commerce methods and stipulate responsibilities and obligations of the parties to provide information in advance about goods to customs authorities (transport enterprises, logistics companies related to entrusted services in purchase, related e-commerce exchanges, major e-commerce exchanges operating in Vietnam such as Amazon, Alibaba ). – Effective implementation of risk management methods in customs clearance on the basis of effective exploitation of the customs electronic data system for exports and imports through e-commerce methods; GTT01 price database system; effective application of regulations of Circular No. 81/2019/TT–BTC of the Ministry of Finance regulating risk management in customs operations. – Effective application of compliance management measures for companies engaged in exporting and importing goods through e-commerce floors, customs clearance agents performing entrusted services in customs procedures for export and import of goods through e-commerce floors. – Strengthening the signing of cooperation between customs authorities and major international e-commerce exchanges such as Alibaba, Amazon related to the management of contents such as: Unified HS list of goods, customs value, origin, quality control policy, providing relevant information. – Accelerating the implementation of the national one–door mechanism, ASEAN one–door mechanism related to goods traded through cross–border e-commerce such as: Issuance of import and 75
10. export licenses, electronic declarations, electronic payments, electronic invoices, certificates of electronic origin for import and export goods. Second, support businesses providing logistics and supply chain services in cross–border e-commerce. Developing logistics and supply chain enterprises that play an important role in conducting cross– border e-commerce transactions to ensure on–time delivery, the right customers, the right locations, competitive prices; application of Just in time technology, traceable technology. The Government should encourage enterprises to quickly implement the digital transformation program, apply electronic logistics in stages such as transportation, in warehouse management (automatic separation of orders, warehouse management software, loading and unloading operation system, automatic movement of goods in warehouses, application of technology in import and export of goods in warehouses); in the development of goods quality inspection services, in handling logistics in reverse for returned goods. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement the national–level project on promoting digital transformation in enterprises, which stipulates that logistics business is one of the priority areas to enjoy the incentives in credit, in rapid depreciation of fixed assets related to investment in technology for digital transformation. Third, support enterprises to export goods through cross–border e-commerce Promoting enterprises to export goods through cross–border e-commerce is one of the effective directions in the context of Industrial Revolution 4.0, The Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to replicate the support model to connect domestic enterprises with major e-commerce enterprises in the world such as Alibaba, Amazon, Ebay through programs: Export through e-commerce, Vietnam brand development on e-commerce floor, Training Vietnamese human resources on e-commerce, General Booth, effective exploitation of e-commerce floor website. Fourth, support businesses and consumers to participate in purchases through cross–border e-commerce. – Psings the development of goods purchase in business models B2B and B2C: The Government should have proposed a scheme regulating e-commerce through e-commerce floor to transparent public procurement process and save time and finance in public procurement. In addition, training on e- commerce for foreign partners in piloting a number of fields. Enterprises need to implement digital transformation in input activities, encourage expansion of purchases with overseas suppliers through e- commerce on e-commerce floors. Therefore, the legal basis for electronic invoices, electronic payments, electronic bidding should continue to be perfected; the training and retraining of human resources of enterprises need to be implemented effectively. – PB2C purchasing development: The fact that E-commerce transactions under the B2C model are common and account for the largest revenue. However, the knowledge of consumers when participating in cross–border e-commerce floors and on foreign sales websites is still limited, so there are many risks such as: not receiving goods according to the commitment of time, faulty goods can not be returned, the tax paid is too high, causing the price of goods to increase much compared to the price of less, the quality of goods when receiving is not as expected Therefore, it is necessary to propagate, train and guide consumers to master and fully knowledge before participating in purchases to avoid risks; encourage the development of entrusted purchasing services through reputable e-commerce companies in the country such as Tiki, Lazada, Sendo, Shopee Fifth,the eia creates human resources for e-commerce and cross–border e-commerce. Training human resources for e-commerce and cross–border e-commerce is both an urgent and long–term solution. Accordingly, it is necessary to coordinate closely between ministries, sectors and 76
11. associations and large e-commerce enterprises operating in Vietnam to organize short–term training courses and long–term training on e-commerce and cross–border e-commerce. Specifically, ministries: Education and Training, Industry and Trade, Labor – Invalids and Social Affairs in collaboration with the Vietnam E-commerce Association and training institutions to effectively implement training programs on e-commerce business; Organizing short–term training courses for human resources of enterprises participating in transactions through e-commerce floors. The Covid–19 epidemic has taken a toll on the global economy in general and Vietnam in particular, but it also opens up opportunities for cross–border e-commerce development. To take advantage of the opportunities and overcome the obstacles caused by the Covid–19 epidemic, the study proposed a number of key policies such as: Through customs, logistics services development, supporting enterprises to participate in the supply of goods on e-commerce floors, supporting enterprises and consumers and the coordination of ministries, sectors, business associations in training and fostering human resources. In recent years, the breakthrough growth of e-commerce has made Vietnam one of the most potential markets in ASEAN. Vietnamese businesses and consumers are facing tremendous opportunities from the 4.0 industrial revolution. However, in addition to these significant developments, e-commerce in Vietnam also faces many challenges and barriers. These will likely have a significant impact on the economy not only in Vietnam but also globally. These can be positive impacts that can also have negative impacts on the economy, but it is necessary to understand the nature of the direction, scenarios and specific strategies to be ready to meet the needs of the economy. 4. CONCLUSION Cross-border e-commerce is becoming a core factor and an inevitable trend of the global economy. Not out of the game, Vietnam is rising to become one of the countries with the fastest e-commerce growth in the world at a rate of 35% per year, even 2.5 times higher than Japan. Although this type has made great strides, there are still many challenges and barriers, leading to Vietnam e-commerce has not been fully exploited. To solve this problem requires the State and enterprises to take practical measures to improve technology infrastructure, protect consumers, improve consumer confidence with online shopping activities, improve the quality of human resources for e-commerce, effectively implement the distribution of goods, ensure safety in financial transactions. REFERENCES 1. Ministry of Industry and Trade – Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (2019). Vietnam E-commerce White Paper 2019. 2. Google và Temasek (2018). E-Conomy SEA 2018. 3. Vietnam E-commerce Association (2019). E-commerce Index Report 2019 4. Kantar và Worldpanel Division (2018). The future of e-commerce in FMCG. 77