Vượt rào cản kỹ thuật thương mại vào thị trường EU đối với hàng dệt may của Việt Nam

Nội dung text: Vượt rào cản kỹ thuật thương mại vào thị trường EU đối với hàng dệt may của Việt Nam

1. OVERCOMING THE TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE (TBT) OF THE EU MARKET FOR VIETNAM’S TEXTILE AND GARMENT PRODUCTS VƯỢT RÀO CẢN KỸ THUẬT THƯƠNG MẠI VÀO THỊ TRƯỜNG EU ĐỐI VỚI HÀNG DỆT MAY CỦA VIỆT NAM Vu Thi Nhu Quynh,PhD Tran Van Trang, PhD Thuongmai University Abstract For new generation free trade agreements (FTAs), the reduction or removal of traditional tariff barriers is often accompanied by the strengthening of technical barriers to trade (TBT). TBT with outstanding advantages over traditional tariff barriers, play a decisive role in shaping the flows of international trade today. This article addresses the technical barriers of the EU market to Vietnam's textile and garment products. After reviewing the theory and analyzing the current status of EU technical barriers on Vietnam's textile and apparel products, the paper proposes a number of solutions including applying an advanced quality management system, strengthening communication and dissemination of laws, rules of origin, labeling, social responsibility in order to overcome the technical barriers that the EU vill apply to Vietnam's textile and garment products in the context of EVFTA’s implementation. Keywords: Technical Barriers to Trade, Textile and garment products, EU, Vietnam Tóm tắt Đối với các hiệp định thương mại tự do thế hệ mới (FTA), việc cắt giảm hoặc dỡ bỏ các hàng rào thuế quan truyền thống thường đi liền với việc tăng cường các rào cản thương mại (TBT). Các rào cản kỹ thuật thương mại, với những ưu điểm nổi trội so với rào cản thuế quan truyền thống, đóng vai trò quyết định trong định hình các dòng chảy của thương mại quốc tế ngày nay Bài viết này đề cập tới các rào cản kỹ thuật của thị trường EU đối với hàng dệt may của Việt Nam. Sau khi tổng quan lý thuyết và phân tích hiện trạng các rào cản kỹ thuật của EU đối với hàng dệt may Việt Nam, bài viết đề xuất một số giải pháp bao gồm: áp dụng hệ thống quản lý chất lượng tiên tiến, tăng cường thông tin và phổ biến pháp luật, về quy tắc xuất xứ, về dán nhãn, về trách nhiệm xã hội để vượt qua các rào cản kỹ thuật mà EU đang áp dụng đối với hàng dệt may của Việt Nam hiện nay. Từ khoá: Rào cản kỹ thuật thương mại, Dệt may, Thị trường EU, Việt Nam 1. Introduction The EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) signed on 30 June 2019 in Hanoi opens up lots of benefits for Vietnamese business community. Opportunities, however, will also come with challenges, because this is an agreement of new generation, beneficial to both sides. According to experts, enterprises, particularly textile and garment 626
2. enterprises wishing to join the value chain of goods benefiting from EVFTA, must standardize the production process, meet standards on production, labour, origin, raw and ancillary materials. Currently, Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises are making efforts to remove “bottlenecks” so as to realize this standardization process. When exported to the EU, Vietnamese textiles and garments must use fabrics made in Vietnam and the tailoring is done by Vietnamese or EU enterprises. For our country, textile and garment are a traditional manufacturing industry. The annual total export value of textiles and garments always makes up a significant proportion in the import-export balance. In the EU market, the Vietnamese textile and garment industry holds a large market share, only behind the United States and Japan. The EU is a big and potential market for Vietnam’s export industry to exploit. However, the requirements of the market as well as of consumers of the EU are increasingly higher and more rigid. In addition to such issues as quality, price, etc. they also require products sold at the market assure safety to consumers, manufacturers perform social, environmental responsibilities. This is a novel trend, an increasingly higher demand of the consumer market and consumers towards manufacturers and exporters, in addition to the common codes of conduct. Therefore, sharing concerns with domestic export activities, the textile and garment industry also has challenges to overcome challenges to penetrate intensively and extensively into the EU market. Currently, Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises are exporting to the EU with GSP (Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). This is one of EU’s preferences for developing or less developed countries, with a tariff on textiles and garments of around 9%. At present, the EU’s normal preferential import tax rate 15% and if cut down, it will gradually be down to 13%, 11%, and 9% within 3 years. It is also the goal when Vietnam joins a new generation free trade agreement like the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, creating a sustainable market, at the same time having more conditions to invest and join the supply chain at a deeper level. Thus, if overcoming barriers to participate deeper in the supply chain, the value created for the supply chain of Vietnam's textile and garment industry will be higher. This research was conducted to examine and assess the current situation of technical barriers that EU is applying to Vietnam’s textiles and garments in the the context of EVFTA’s implementation. 2. Literature review 2.1. Prior research related to TBT Previous studies have addressed issues related to TBT in international trade. According to Maskus et al. (2000), there has been increasing use of technical regulations as instruments of commercial policy in the context of multilateral, regional, and global trade. These nontariff barriers are of special concern to developing countries, which may bear additional costs in meeting mandatory standards. Many industrial and developing countries express frustration with regulations that vary across their export markets, require duplicative conformity procedures, and are continually revised to exclude imports. The 627
3. authors provide a comprehensive overview of the policy debate and methodological issues surrounding product standards and technical barriers to trade. Bao and Qiu (2012) empirically estimated the trade effects of technical barriers to trade (TBT) based on all TBT notifications from 105 World Trade Organization (WTO) countries during 1995-2008. It was found that a country's TBT notifications decrease other countries' probability of exporting, but increase their export volumes. The result can be explained by the TBT's differential effects on the fixed and variable cost of export, and consumer confidence. These authors further found that (i) a developing country's TBT have significant effects on other developing countries' exports, but no significant effects on the developed countries' exports, (ii) a developed country's TBT have significant effects on the exports from both types of countries, and (iii) exports from developed countries are affected by a developed country's TBT more seriously than a developing country's TBT. Mahdi Ghodsi (2018) evaluated determining factors of Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) raised on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) notifications over the period 1995- 2011. According to this author, while multilateral and international agreements bind countries concerning the imposition of tariffs on imports, TBTs have been used as trade policy instruments, which conceal the true motivations of governments. The main legitimate reasons behind the imposition of TBTs are to increase environmental qualities and human health, or to improve market efficiencies. However, in addition to these reasons, governments are also in pursuit of protecting their domestic industries. This study analyses how trade protectionist motives and legitimate public policy objectives induce these specific trade measures. Results suggest that bilateral trade and tariffs are one of the forces of TBT STC notifications, acknowledging the protectionist behaviour of authorities. Moreover, countries with high quality of humans’ health-related environmental issues, and low environmental vitalities, are more likely to impose new TBTs. Overall, this study confirms the complex nature of TBT STCs affected by economic, technological, institutional, and health and environmental issues. Some studies have more or less referred to the technical barriers to trade for Vietnam's exports. Tran Van Nam (2015) analyzed the impact of technical barriers of the FTA between Vietnam and EU (when this agreement will be signed and implemented) and made some recommendations for the negotiating delegation. According to the author, compliance with TBT regulations is a prerequisite for Vietnamese exporters to access the EU market. Some potential difficulties related to TBT may include unforeseen changes from the EU, costs of conformity and certification assessments, requirements for investment in new technologies for production, etc. Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa (2012) mentioned the technical barriers to trade when exporting Vietnamese seafood to the Japanese market. Technical barriers related to seafood export are quite specific and very different from textiles and garment products. According to these authors, two main issues are contamination of pesticide residues with Trifluraline and antibiotic residues of Quinolone group. 628
4. Dang Thi Huyen Anh (2017) addressed some difficulties for Vietnam's exports to the EU market when the EVFTA will be implemented. According to the author, there are three main difficulties including rules of origin; compliance with intellectual property, labor and environmental regulations; and tight TBT of the EU market. The author also proposed the main solutions to overcome these difficulties including the development of supporting industries to meet the requirements of goods origin; institutional improvement and public awareness raising on labor, environment and intellectual property issues; and developing technological capacity and quality management to ensure technical and safety standards. Thus, previous studies have not directly addressed the trade barriers related to textiles and garments exported to the EU market and specific solutions to overcome these barriers when EVFTA will be implemented. 2.2. Technical barrier to trade (TBT) A technical barrier to trade (TBT) is any regulation, standard or procedure that could make exporting goods to another country more difficult. TBTs are often greater obstacles to exporters than tariffs (import fees). Testing or certification procedures are examples of technical barriers to trade. According to WTO, it recognises WTO members' right to implement measures to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human health and safety, or protection of the environment. These technical regulations are necessary and reasonable to protect important benefits (Myint Hla, 1977) such as human health, environment, security, etc. When participating in the international trade process, countries usually establish and maintain a system of technical measures specific to its goods and imported goods (Nguyen Thanh Danh, 2005). These regulations, therefore, may not be the same among countries as they depend on the characteristics of each country, especially geographic conditions, level of development, commercial and financial needs as well as various development goals (protecting public interests, social commitments, trade promotion, etc.). Enterprises need to distinguish what a measure is TBT or SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures). Each type of measure will be governed by WTO's own rules and regulations; On that rules, enterprises know how to protect their rights by any appropriate method. Under the Agreement on TBT , when issuing technical regulations on goods, each WTO's member country have to ensure that the application of these provisions is: Do not discriminate; Avoid creating unnecessary barriers to international trade: Harmonization; Taking into account the common international standards; Ensuring the principle of equivalence and mutual recognition (with other countries); Transparent. These are important tools that Enterprises can use to identify a technical measure that complies with the WTO to take reasonable complaints and grievances to protect legitimate interests. In EVFTA, the TBT agreement is presented in chapter 5. It contains provisions that go beyond those in the WTO TBT Agreement in order to ensure that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. 629
5. 2.3. TBT related to textile and garment industry Technical barriers to textile and garment exports are the technical regulations, standards, measures imposed by the importing country to prevent the textiles and garments that fail to meet the requirements for entry into the importing country’s market (Đinh Van Thanh, 2005). It can be said that textiles and garments are an area where developing countries have great advantages and potential for development (Vu Thi Nhu Quynh, 2016). Technical barriers to textiles and garments in international trade also have some specific features such as: - Technical barriers under the form of environmental standards, social responsibility, and intellectual property rights to fight fraud are often too high to be necessary, difficult to comply with for developing countries - Most technical barriers to textiles and garments are based on WTO commitments. Nevertheless, some major textile and garment import markets such as the US, EU, Japan have many other technical barriers in the form of separate regulations. Accordingly, overcoming technical barriers to textiles and garments is the implementation strategies, solutions to meet the requirements of importing countries, bringing textiles and garments from exporting countries into consumption in importing countries. The main types of technical barriers to the textile and garment industry are as follows: - Product quality regulations. These are the provisions of quality standards (ISO 9000) - the code of quality management issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This code includes the standards that specify the requirements of a quality management system that in order to be certified, enterprises in general and textile and garment enterprises in particular have to apply such as ISO 9001/2/3; or ISO 9000:2000, and other support standards. - Human health and safety protection. These measures include regulations on hazardous chemicals in textiles and garments dangerous for the health of consumers. Hazardous chemicals include: aromatic amines that cause cancer (related to azo dyes), disperse dyes that cause allergies, heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, etc.), organic tin compounds (MBT, TBT, TPhT ), chlorine-containing compounds (chlorine-containing organic loads such as chlorobenzene, chlorotoluene), flame retardants (PBBs, Peta- BDE, octo BDE ), formaldehyde, phthalate (DEHP, DINP ), total lead content in paint and coating surface. Products that are considered dangerous substances will be banned from importing into developed countries' markets. - Environmental regulations and standards. The provisions of environmental protection (ISO14000): these specify the requirements of the environmental management system, with particular attention paid to legal provisions concerning impact and influence on the environment to enable textile and garment enterprises to systemize their environmental policies objectives. ISO14000 includes ISO14001 and ISO14004, in which ISO14001 is the requirements for the system, and ISO14004 is the guiding documents for building the system according to those requirements. - Social responsibility and regulations and standards. Globalization and trade liberalization bring a lot of power to international customers and pose challenges to the role of trade unions and national laws, including a need for a new international legal 630
6. framework such as the labor standards provisions in free trade agreements. - Regulations on labeling of textiles and garments. These regulations allow keeping export products safe. It is a request for accurate labeling. There are many regulations of developed countries on labeling textiles and garments. - Regulations on origin of textiles and garments. Regulations on origin of textiles and garments of countries, especially developed countries such as the United States, the EU, etc. are very complicated, unclear and not transparent, and subject to very great influence from domestic manufacturers of these markets, turning the rule of origin into technical barriers very difficult to meet for developing and less developed countries. Normally, textile and garment exports form developing and less developed countries are entitled to Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) (Đỗ Thị Đông, 2011). 3. Research methodology To conduct this research, the author referenced materials, books, newspapers and prior research, to gather information about international trade, technical barriers, technical barriers to textiles and garments From the information and secondary data gathered, the author summed up, analyzed and systemized into the theoretical basis of the research, showing the relationship of technical barriers with international trade development. In addition to searching and gathering secondary data, the author collected primary data by selecting and interviewing a number of enterprises specializing in exporting textile and garment products. The enterprises interviewed include those already exported and preparing to export to Europe. That the research conducted interviewing with exporting enterprises was to redefine the contents related to technical barriers, regulations and measures for implementation. The information gathered from interviews will serve as foundation for the research to assess the current status of technical barriers to textiles and garments, from which to propose solutions to facilitate the development of solutions to overcoming technical barriers for Vietnam’s textiles and garments to enter the EU market. 4. The current status of technical barriers to Vietnam’s exported textile and garment products to the eu market The EU is a large market with 27 member countries and is one of the most important trading partners of Vietnam. Vietnam's textile and apparel export turnover reached nearly 40 billion USD in 2019, of which export turnover to the EU market was 4.4 billion, accounting for 11.3%. The EU is therefore a very important market for Vietnam's textiles and clothing 631
7. 50 39 40 36 31.16 27.1 28.5 30 24.5 20 Total Turnover EU 10 3.4 3.9 3.7 3.7 4.1 4.4 Billion dollardsBillion 0 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Figure 1: Turnover of Vietam’s exported textiles and garment products to the EU market Source: Vietnam’s General Statistics Office In line with the general trend in international trade, the EU countries do not use many quota and tariff measures, but focus on the construction of non-tariff barriers, of which technical barriers are the most common measure. As a member of the WTO, the EU’s import management regime is also based on principles of this organization in order to protect consumers and domestic production. Particularly for textile and garment products, this market’s system of technical barriers is very rigid, including: - Product quality standards. The EU members are the leaders in applying ISO 9000. Quality management standards are not mandatory as registration for quality standards is a voluntary process in most countries. Hence, the requirement for ISO 9000 certification also depends on each specific partner, company or product. Nevertheless, according to advice from the European Business Information Center, once an enterprise is granted a certificate of compliance with an internationally recognized management standard, it means that the product of that enterprise will enter this market easier, especially for products from developing countries. Particularly for the EU - a particularly fastidious market, ISO 9000 is regarded an unwritten rule since ISO certificates can sometimes supersede product quality certificates on condition that the enterprise has met the European standard "EN 29002 or EN 29003". - Regulations on consumer health and safety assurance. European regulations on product safety are all centered on putting in the market a product reaching the highest level of safety and health four the user. A product is regarded safe when it meets all the European provisions on product safety. When the contract does not contain European provisions for certain circumstances, the product must comply with the specific requirements of the member country, where the product will be sold. In the case there are no regulations of a member country, the product must follow rules, laws or hints from similar situations that may have occurred before; standards of the member countries, where 632
8. the product will be sold; standards from good practices related to health and safety; and finally, according to the highest desire for consumer safety. Currently, the EU prohibits using or restricts the use of substances suspected to be harmful to human health on textile and garment products, formaldehyde, lame retardants for textile and garment products, cords and drawstrings in children's clothing. - Environmental standards. According to these regulations, the EU prohibits the import and sale of textile and garment products containing RS. A series of circulars, codes, laws, ordinances related to this matter has been issued by the EU, including the following provisions: + REACH Regulation: This is the European Commission (EC)’s a system of “Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals” for a number of items imported into the EU, including textiles and garments. In order to implement properly REACH regulation, textile and garment enterprise should set up a model for managing substances in production materials (which substance to be used, its properties, the information about which can be provided for the EU when required ) and perform supply chain management through such activities as setting requirements towards chemical suppliers, chemical suppliers must provide customers with Material Safety Data Sheets as per form conformable to REACH. + Environmental quality standards. Currently, the two most common standard systems voluntarily applicable to textiles and garments imported into the EU are ISO 14001 and EMAS (The European Eco - Management and Audit scheme). For EMAS code, it is most widely being applied particularly in Germany. EMAS is quite difficult for enterprises and also costly, enterprise therefore should apply ISO 14001. In the process of manufacturing textile and garment products, the main stages related to the issue of environment to which Vietnamese enterprises should pay attention when exporting goods to the EU are: Production and reference material processing. The main raw materials used in manufacturing common textile and garment products are cotton and man-made fibers, hence many hazardous substances discharged, particularly in the process of growing materials and producing fabric. In the course of processing and finishing the fabric with many different steps, large amount of hazardous substances, such as oxygen, biocide will be released, and many toxins that cannot be destroyed by bacteria can also be found in the washing process, these are the cause of environmental problems. Printing and dyeing are also the two main stages that cause environmental pollution. According to EU regulations, the percentage is not fixed on the fabric, ranging from12% for colorants and chromium and from 30-40% for reactive dyes and phosphorus. Textile and garment enterprises can refer to more environmentally friendly dyeing methods to bring greater efficiency in the dyeing process. There are guidelines worth noting during dyeing, namely: making the most of the dye by putting the fiber into a dye bath, avoiding the use of a dye-filled container for a small amount, considering whether to continue dyeing the following lots with the same or darker colour. Azo dye and other hazardous substances: these are dangerous dyes that can cause cancer thereby being banned from 633
9. circulation in Germany. In the Netherlands, these dyes are prohibited from using on bed sheets and clothes. There are about 120 types of azo dyes banned. Some other types are also prohibited in some EU member states such as pentachlorophenol. - Regulations on social responsibility standards. Along with regulations on product quality, packaging, etc. the EU is also interested in improving working conditions in the textile and garment industry. Regulations on working conditions and social responsibility are applied by the EU according to SA 8000 and SA 8001. Accordingly, a number of campaigns are carried out, such as clean clothes campaign, ethical rules, a typical example of which is fair trade rules in the textile and garment industry, with taking into consideration the costs of food and drink, the degree of freedom in the company, non- crimination, health and safety at workplace For Vietnamese enterprises, it is worth noticing that these are issues related to working conditions in the production process of their enterprises will have an impact on international importers or buyers. More and more European companies are taking the improvement of working conditions as a criterion for starting or continuing to do business with partners in developing countries. - Regulations on packaging, labeling and product labeling. This provision is implemented under the Circular 96/74/EC regulating how to label textile and garment products sold in the EU, specifically: + Packaging: In addition to protecting the product from loss and damage during transport, the packaging of products should meet the requirements of importing countries and customers for environmental protection. Carefully examining the packaging, so that the products must be protected against the weather, temperature variation, careless handling and theft, etc. + Label: The label must state correctly the information about the fiber content of the product. Labels must be considered part of quality. +Size: For textiles and garments, four basic body measurements often used to determine the size of the product are: body length, chest measurement, shoulder length and hip size. Presently, there is still no consensus on labeling of product size within the EU countries. Further, as the sizes required by each customer can vary greatly, every large textile and garment manufacturer tend to tabulate its own specific size. + Product labeling: The Fair Trade Labeling Program is being established and strongly implemented in Europe, specifically it was initiated by a few organizations such as the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA) and Transfair International and Havelaar Code. There are two types of content written on the label of a product as follows: 1. Mandatory requirements such as origin, fiber ratio, flammability; + Optional requirements: Washing instructions, size label. (vi) Rules of origin of goods. The EU is particularly concerned about the origin of the goods, as it relates to the entitlement to EU professional tax treatment. Considering and evaluating the origin of textile and garment products exported into the EU are based on the materials produced in that country. Especially, since January 1, 2011, a new provision of Rules of Origin was passed by the EC, which has some new features such as: 634
10. i Simplification of provisions of Rules of Origin includes one of the criteria: Content of domestic value, tax transfer or sub-item, processing activities, use of raw materials entirely in the beneficiary country. Flexible density level by country (if it is a slowly developing country, the content is only 30% or equivalent) or the proportion of the value of raw materials (for example, nylon (20% content), plastic or aluminum (30% content) fibers. ii The EU is allowed to stipulate flexible domestic value contents for countries based on natural calamity situation, economic situation or a specific incentive program under the EU initiative. iii Adjustment of cumulative origin: According to EU regulations on GSP, the GSP beneficiary countries can cumulate the origin with other countries in the same regional group to ensure that the processing is not insufficient as provided for. If the processing is not ensured as provided for, the product may still be considered for recognition of origin if the value processed in that country is greater than the value of the materials used in any country in the cumulative regional group. Also, the country in the cumulative regional group that has the highest customs value is considered the country of origin of the product. There are four regional groups enjoying tariff preferences under the EU’s GSP, in which, Vietnam is in Group I including Brunei-Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and the Philippines. Depending on the requirements of the beneficiary country, accumulation is conducted among the countries in Group I (including Vietnam) and Group III which may be conditional. Therefore, exporters must be careful in using the cumulative origin, must see if the input materials of the countries in the region are eligible for preferences or are excluded. Currently, the goods exported to the EU market with ‘pure’ origin from Vietnam are very few. Most products have undergone the production process in two or more different countries. The way to determine the origin of goods depends on the laws of each country, but the most basic way is, apart from goods of ‘pure’ origin, the goods that have been ‘basic mutilated’ in the market of the exporting country are also accepted as origin from this country. Goods are considered ‘basic mutilated’ when having undergone a manufacturing process and substantially changed the name, properties or materials used. This is a new type of barrier, thus Vietnamese enterprises, if grasping these regulations, will certainly have an opportunity to overcome these technical barriers to both export their goods to this market and take advantage of the preferences offered by the EU. 5. Recommendations for overcoming technical barriers to Vietnam’s textile and garment products into the eu market To of Vietnam the technical barriers to textile and garment exports, more than ever, the necessary and decisive solution to Vietnam's ability to overcome barriers is to continue to innovate more strongly in thought and awareness on both sides of the State and textile and garment enterprises of Vietnam. This is a requirement and also the basic and most important solution to ensuring the accessibility to the US, EU and Japan markets of Vietnamese enterprises. However, until the present, many Vietnamese enterprises, mainly 635
11. SMEs, due to their small scale, limited capacity and resources, have not paid much attention to market requirements. There have been many large, more professional and methodical enterprises that have studied, explored the market before proceeding to export their products, however, this number is not large and the grasp of the market requirements is also at a moderate level. Hence, some specific solutions include: - Applying an advanced quality management system in the most advantageous and vulnerable sectors: Vietnam has advantages in exporting leather shoes, textiles and garments, etc. In the CPTPP, FTA, there are chapters stipulating textiles and garments, and current regulations of the three major markets of Vietnam, i.e. the US, EU and Japan. Since these markets attach special importance to consumers’ health, safety and the environmental protection, they often set very strict fire and environmental protection standards. These standards are really barriers to Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises, especially SMEs, due to the high requirements for raw and ancillary materials, machinery and equipment, technology. The domestic textile and garment industry, therefore, must build and apply advanced quality management systems according to ISO standards ISO (ISO 9001, ISO 17020, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 17025, GMP ). Or in the production of agricultural products, it is necessary to set VietGAP or GLOBALGAP standards; only by doing so can enterprises penetrate and expand their export markets. - Strengthening communication and dissemination of laws on technical barrier: One of the reasons why technical barriers become difficult to overcome is because they exist in many diverse, complex, difficult to identify and frequently changing forms. Enterprises in developing and less developed countries often have difficulty in understanding and collecting information about technical barriers of importing countries due to the weak information system. Also, they have very little information and their knowledge is very limited about technical barriers at the markets they will export their products to. For that reason, developing and less developed countries are the most disadvantaged countries from technical barriers. - Regarding rules of origin: As in the FTA Vietnam signed with the EU (EVFTA), the rules of origin require staring from fabric, but in TPP agreement, the rules require starting from fiber, it means that all raw and ancillary materials for manufacturing process from fiber onward must start from TPP member countries. In the context of Vietnam’s textile and garment industry at present, over 50% of material and ancillary materials are imported from abroad, 48% of which come from China (according to Chinhphu.vn - TH), the rest are from South Korea and Taiwan. With dependence on raw materials as such, it will be very difficult for domestic textile and garment enterprise to access the preferential tariffs in the trade agreements they signed. - Regarding labeling: Vietnam needs to actively negotiate with importing countries to minimize regulations that are above necessity and assure more transparency in regulations on labeling of import markets. At the same time, enterprises must study, explore and be aware of the regulations and legitimate labeling requirements of import markets for fiber compensation, country of origin, instructions for use to take measures to adapt to, meeting these standard and regulations. 636
12. - Regarding social responsibility: it is necessary to propagate so that people can understand the true nature of the "social responsibility" issue and codes of conduct, especially in enterprises, managers and macro policy makers. - The State should apply quality management systems in line with the standards of the partner market in association with the renewal of technological equipment and environmental protection. We also should attach importance to investment in the development of supporting industries to be proactive in material resources to meet the requirements of rules of origin in FTAs. Also, Support enterprises in applying modern technical advances to textile and garment production: Focus on raw and ancillary material production technology, packaging technology; Strengthen links with organizations of countries to attract new technology. Support enterprises in highly professionally qualified official and worker training: Sending officials, workers to study abroad or inviting foreign experts to teach; investing in universities with textile and garment industry to train a team of highly skilled workers, vocational schools, etc. or the State supports enterprises with on- the-job training and project-based training. - Enterprises should also actively and proactively implement solutions to overcoming the limitations, overcoming the non-tariff barriers mentioned above. For example, enterprises need to take the initiative in updating information about practices and provisions of law related to the exports of partner countries, invest in branding, improving benefits and working environment of workers in the long run Enterprises proactively invest in improving production, increasing technology capacity, requiring production in a closed cycle, proving the origin of products and materials to ensure the satisfaction of requirements in standards and codes of foreign countries, or Strengthening and improving the linkability, cooperation and effectiveness of cooperation between domestic textile and garment enterprise and foreign textile and garment enterprises in Vietnam or import partners of textiles and garments to increase their ability to meet and exceed technical barriers to boost Vietnam’s textile and garment exports. REFERENCE 1. Bao X., and Qiu Larry D. (2012), “How Do Technical Barriers to Trade Influence Trade”, review of international Economics, volume 20, issue 4, p.691-706. 2. Đặng Thị Huyền Anh (2017), Hiệp định EVFTA và một số vấn đề đặt ra đối với xuất khẩu của Việt Nam vào thị trường EU, Tạp chí Tài chính, link bài: doi-voi-xuat-khau-cua-viet-nam-vao-thi-truong-eu-129830.html 4. Nguyễn Thành Danh (2005), "Thương Mại Quốc Tế (Vấn Đề Cơ Bản)", Nxb Lao động - Xã hội., 5. Đỗ Thị Đông (2011), Phân tích chuỗi giá trị và tổ chức quan hệ liên kết của các doanh nghiệp may xuất khẩu ở Việt Nam, Luận án tiến sĩ kinh tế. 6. Nguyễn Thị Phương Dung và Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Hoa (2012), “Các rào cản kỹ thuật thương mại khi xuất khẩu thuỷ sản Việt Nam vào thị trường Nhật”, Tạp chí khoa học Trường Đại học Cần Thơ, 23b, p. 215-223. 637
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