Solutions to adapt technical barriers to trade for agricultural products exported to the us market when Vietnam joins tpp

l exports to 6 regulations on technical barriers; improve and enhance resources to implement activities in the product value chain of enterprises. Proposing two groups of proposals to government agencies and industry 6 associations, in which focusing on the issues of standard harmonization, trade facilitation, investment, technology transfer and support on providing information, strengthening the connection of enterprises according to export value chains of 3 key agricultural export products of Vietnam. 6. Structure of the research In addition to the introduction, conclusions, list of tables, references and appendices, the thesis is structured in 4 chapters. Chapter 1: Overview on published sciencetific works related to the research project Chapter 2: Theoretical backgound of technical barriers and increasing the adaptability of technical barriers to agricultural oproducts in international trade Chapter 3: Present situation of adapting technical barriers to trade for Vietnamese agricultural products exported to the US market when Vietnam joins TPP (CPTPP). Chapter 4: Orientation and solutions to adapt technical barriers to trade for Vietnamese agricultural products exported to the US market associated with the implementation of CPTPP. CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW ON PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC WORKS RELATED TO THE RESEARCH PROJECT The thesis has reviewed 16 research works, including 9 domestic research projects, 7 foreign research projects. By reviewing the domestic and foreign research works that have been published, the thesis has found out the research gap and the issues that need further study in the thesis. 7 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF TECHNICAL BARRIERS AND THE ADAPTABILITY OF TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE 2.1 Concept and the importance of increasing adaptability to technical barriers to trade for agricultural products of importing countries 2.1.1 Relevants concepts - Technical barriers to trade According to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Technical Barriers to Trade are the standards and technical regulations that a country applies to goods. nical regulations) that a country applies to imported goods and / or procedures to evaluate conformity assessment procedures of imported goods against those standards and technical regulations - Agricultural products In this research, the thesis will use the concept of agricultural products in Vietnam's economic sector, agriculture sector including agriculture (cultivation, husbandry), fisheries, forestry and salt production. Therefore, agricultural products are also known as agricultural products, or commonly known as agricultural products. The thesis focuses on studying 3 main groups of agricultural products exported to the US market, including: Agricultural products (coffee, cashew nuts, pepper); Aquatic products (catfish products and shrimp); Tropical fruits (longan, lychee, rambutan, mango, dragon fruit). - Technical barriers to trade for agricultural products Technical barrier to trade for agricultural products in this thesis is understood as: "technical regulations, standards on quality, regulations on food safety, regulations, standards on environment, regulation regulations on traceability of products, regulations on labels, regulations on packaging and packaging of agricultural products that 8 import countries have introduced in order to limit and prevent low- quality goods and unqualified regulations and qualities entering the domestic market, ensuring the safety of human health, plants and animals, the environment and national security. " 2.1.2 Types of technical barriers to trade in agricultural products Technical barriers to international trade are diverse and are applied very differently, depending on the type of product, the importing country and the exporting country. To export products to the world market, manufacturers and exporters must comply with technical regulations (compulsory standards) developed by public organizations to ensure product quality, protect the environment. school and consumer health. For agricultural products, the main technical barriers in international trade can be classified into several main provisions: (1) Regulation on product quality; (2) Regulations on food safety and hygiene; (3) Regulations on environmental protection; (4) Provisions on product traceability; (5) Regulations on labeling; (6) Regulations on packaging and packaging. 2.1.3 The role of technical barriers in trade in agricultural products - The role of protecting important benefits such as human health, the environment, national security, human health, plants and animals safety ... - The role of improving the competitiveness of enterprises and products - Protection role for domestic agricultural production 9 2.2 The concept, process and methods of adapting technical barriers in trade for agricultural products exported to importing countries 2.2.1. The concept and process of adapting technical barriers to trade in agricultural products of importing countries “Adapting to technical barriers to trade in agricultural products is the process of capturing, detecting and adjusting to adaptations of exporting countries to changes in technical regulations and standards of countries. import offers for agricultural products ”. 2.2.2. Method of adapting technical barriers in trade in agricultural products of importing countries "The way to adapt to technical barriers to trade in agricultural products is to manage processes, control technical regulations and standards for all stages of the agricultural value chain,". 2.3 Factors affecting the adaptability of technical barriers to trade in agricultural products of importing countries 2.3.1 Factors inside exporting enterprises - Infrastructure elements in production - Human resource management factors - Technological factors in production - Factors of input raw materials in production 2.3.2 External factors - Policies and supporting activities of the State - Policies and supporting activities of agricultural product association 2.4 Experience of some countries in adapting technical barriers to trade in agricultural products and lessons for Vietnam 2.4.1 Experience of some countries in the world The thesis research experiences of 3 countries: China, Malaysia, and Japan. In particular, China and Malaysia are two countries with many similarities with Vietnam in terms of exports. These are also two countries with many agricultural products successfully exported to the US market. 10 Japan is a developed country, its TBT regulations are as high as the United States. This is also a country with many successful exports to the US market. Therefore, learning from experience in developing legal documents, the legal environment and a system of technical regulations and standards to support exporters to adapt to the increasing regulations of importing countries. will be very beneficial to Vietnam. 2.4.2 Lessons learned for Vietnam From lessons learned from China, Japan, and Malaysia, the thesis has drawn 7 lessons for Vietnam CHAPTER 3: PRESENT SITUATION OF ADAPTING TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE FOR VIETNAMESE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED TO THE US MARKET WHEN VIETNAM JOINS THE TPP (CPTPP) 3.1 Overview of technical barriers to trade related to Vietnam-US trade relations 3.1.1 United States technical barriers to trade in agricultural products 3.1.1.1 General application principles Technical barriers to trade in the United States are divided into the following three groups: Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures; Measures for consumers; Trade measures. 3.1.1.2 US technical barriers to imported agricultural products Technical barriers to trade in the United States include standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures. This study only mentioned and deeply studied 6 regulations on technical barriers that the three main groups of Vietnam's agricultural products exported to the US market were most involved, namely: Regulations on food safety and hygiene; Product quality regulations and standards; Environmental regulations and standards; Process and methods of production, processing, transportation and 11 storage; Traceability of products; Regulations on labeling; Requirements for packaging and packaging. 3.1.2 Commitments on technical barriers in Vietnam - US Trade Agreement The Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement is an event marking the positive development of bilateral relations since the two countries established diplomatic relations. The Agreement details the commitment to open trade in goods, trade in services, trade related to investment and trade related to intellectual property rights. Agreement is built on the principle of equality, mutual benefit, respect for independence and sovereignty of each other. Under the agreement, there will be no non-tariff barriers and quantitative restrictions on many agricultural products. 3.1.3 Commitments on technical barriers in TPP (CP TPP) The CP TPP Agreement is a free trade agreement, formed with the main objective of eliminating taxes and barriers in the exchange of goods and services among its members. In addition, the CPTPP will agree on common rules and rules among its members. Commitments on technical barriers in trade in CP TPP to facilitate trade by limiting unnecessary technical barriers in trade, increasing transparency, promoting legal cooperation and governance practices. good reason. Commitments in the TBT chapter apply to the development, promulgation and application of all technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures of the Central Government agency may affect in trade goods between the parties. 3.1.4 The level of similarity between commitments in the Vietnam - US Trade Agreement, TPP, CPTPP - The level of similarity in standards between the CP TPP and TPP Agreements The United States is directly involved in negotiating the provisions on TBT in trade of TPP Agreement. Basically, the CPTPP Agreement inherits all the contents of the TPP, so the US TBT is equivalent to the TBT of TPP and CP 12 TPP. The CP TPP, even without the United States, is still considered to be a comprehensive, high-quality agreement, so the impact on the policy environment is much greater than previous FTAs. Therefore, well implementing the commitments in CP TPP will be very beneficial for Vietnam in adapting US TBT. - The level of similarity in standards between the TPP (CP TPP) and the Vietnam - US Trade Agreement Based on the commitments on TBT in the TPP Agreement, it can be seen that the TPP will not significantly change the current TBT application mechanism in TPP member countries including the United States. At the same time, there will be no major changes in TBT of TPP members as well as the United States for Vietnamese exports under the impact of TPP. Therefore, in the Vietnam-US trade relations, the mechanisms signed in the Vietnam-US BTA still remain valid. As mentioned, the United States is directly involved in negotiating the provisions on TBT of the TPP Agreement. Regarding the level of economic development and the level of agricultural protection of the United States and CP TPP countries such as Japan, Canada, Mexico ... equivalent. Therefore, when adapting to the provisions on the United States TBT on agricultural products, Vietnam will exploit good opportunities to trade agricultural products with CPTPP countries. - The implementation of commitments under the CP TPP will help Vietnam improve its ability to adapt to US TBT due to: The CP TPP's conformity assessment mechanism will help Vietnam improve its competitiveness for export goods and develop in a sustainable way to export goods to high markets such as the United States. The CP TPP helps Vietnam improve the provisions of the law, establish management mechanisms to both conform to international treaties, improve the capacity to build and promulgate organization and enforcement capacity. 3.2 Factors affecting the adaptability of technical barriers in trade of exporting enterprises in recent years 13 3.2.1 Government support policies Policies on effective participation in international standards organizations; The policy of perfecting Vietnam's standard system along the direction of compatibility with the standards system of importing countries; Policy on encouraging and creating conditions for enterprises to apply internal standards compatible with advanced standards; Policies on building a transparent, convenient and business-standard evaluation system; Policies to support market information and export promotion for businesses 3.2.2 Association support policies Develop the website of the Association and publish its publications in accordance with the law; Organize training workshops to disseminate legal knowledge and international integration; Provide complete information about export markets; Protect enterprises in commercial disputes; Organizing exchanges with international organizations, organizations and businesses in other localities; Cooperate with trade unions to deal well with the employer-employee relationship; Collecting and introducing customers, providing information, guidance and advice for businesses; Support businesses in training, technical advice; The Association has functioned as a bridge between businesses and the State; Carry out the external affairs of the industry in cooperation with international organizations. 3.3 Present situation of Vietnam's exports of agricultural products to the US market 3.3.1 Vietnam's agricultural exports to the US over the years Agricultural products are one of the important export industries of Vietnam, making a positive contribution to the overall export turnover of the country. In the 2007-2018 period, the agricultural sector achieved a growth rate of 9.3% per year. In 2018, the export value of agricultural products reached US $ 40.02 billion, compared with 12 years ago, up US $ 27 billion. The value of Vietnam's agricultural exports has increased an average rate of about 13% per year but not really stable. 14 The United States is currently one of Vietnam's major exporters of agricultural products. Agricultural products exported from Vietnam to the United States mainly include: seafood, cashew nuts, coffee, pepper, vegetables and fruits .... From 2007 to the present, the United States has always been the market. Vietnam's largest consumer goods. Export turnover of these items to the United States in the 2007-2018 period increased an average of 2.2% / year. This is the leading market of Vietnam in exporting pepper, ranking second in coffee and seafood. 3.3.2 Aquatic Product For the US market, in the year 2018, shrimp exports including both processed and frozen shrimp (HS160521, HS030617) decreased by -17% and -9% in value compared to 2017 due to the recent years. shrimp products exported to the US are now subject to anti-dumping duties of 25.39%. Catfish in 2018 have a significant growth rate, 43% compared to 2017. For the CPTPP market, shrimp exports of both HS160521 and HS030617 declined by -48% and 9% respectively in value compared to 2017 due to the import volume in CPTPP markets mostly decreased, only Australia increased 92% of frozen shrimp. Particularly for catfish products, there was a significant growth rate 123% in 2018 compared to 2017. 3.3.3 Agricultural Products - Cashew For US market: currently, the United States is still the largest market for Vietnam's cashew nuts with export turnover increasing steadily over the years, in recent years due to the increasing demand for cashew nuts of the United States, Export turnover to this market in 2018 reached a record of more than 1.2 million USD, accounting for one third of the country's total cashew exports. 15 For CPTPP market: Cashew export turnover to the market of CPTPP countries is not high. With raw cashew nuts (HS 080131), although the export turnover of 2018 to member countries' markets is not high, there have been changes compared to 2017. - Coffee The US market, currently the United States is the largest coffee consumer in the world, according to statistics from ITC, Vietnam is ranked fourth with 7.2% of the export market in the world, after Colombia ( 21% market share), Brazil (16.8% market share) and Canada (7.5%). Vietnam's coffee export turnover to the US market in 2017 reached about US $ 413 million, down 23.6% compared to 2017. CPTPP Markets, in general, the total value of exports of all types of coffee to CPTPP member countries in 2018 increased slightly compared to 2017. The countries with the highest demand for Vietnam's coffee products are Japan, followed by Malaysia, Mexico, Australia, Canada and Chile. - Pepper The US market: currently the United States is still the largest market for Vietnam's pepper with an export turnover of US $ 178 million of all kinds of pepper in 2018, accounting for 23.5% of the total pepper export turnover in the country. CPTPP market: In the context that pepper export continues to face many difficulties and great competitive pressure, the signing of the CPTPP Agreement is considered as an opportunity to expand exports for Vietnam's pepper industry. Among CPTPP countries, only Malaysia is a country with significant pepper production, however, the export rate is not much, only about 3% of global exports. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is assessed as an opportunity to expand exports for the pepper industry. 16 3.3.4 Tropical Fruits US market: The United States is the largest consumer of fruit in the world. Therefore, the export of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits (mainly fruits) to the US is still modest, but it is facing many opportunities to increase market share and export proportion. CPTPP market: Among the CPTPP countries, only Mexico is the country that exports the most tropical fruits to the United States, the remaining countries have the volume of exports to the United States, although increased but not significant. This will be a good opportunity for Vietnam, Vietnam fruit can be through Mexico, taking advantage of the incentives from the USMCA Agreement to bring fruits into the United States. 3.3.5 General assessment of Vietnam's agricultural exports to the US market and CPTPP countries - Assess the export of Vietnamese agricultural products to the US market and CPTPP countries - Assess opportunities for exporting agricultural products to the United States and CPTPP countries 3.4 Actual situation of adaptability of technical barriers to trade for Vietnamese agricultural products exported to the US market The thesis uses the method of investigating and surveying 200 enterprises in the field of processing and exporting agricultural products to analyze and evaluate the adaptability of businesses exporting agricultural products to the US market. The study will use the elements of resources in enterprises (infrastructure in production, human resources, technology in production, input materials, the link between production and product consumption) such as criteria to assess the level of adaptation to the 6 US technical regulations (Regulations on product quality; Regulations on food safety and hygiene; Regulations on environmental protection; 17 Regulations on product traceability; Regulations on labels; Regulations on packaging, packaging packaging 3.4.1 Actual situation of adapting US regulations to imported agricultural products - Adaptive situation of regulations on product quality - Adaptive situation of regulations on food safety and hygiene - Adaptive situation of regulations on environmental - Adaptive status of regulations on product traceability - Actual situation of regulations on labeling - Adaptive situation of regulations on packaging and packaging 3.4.2 Actual situation of applying measures to increase the adaptability of businesses to the US technical barriers to trade - Actual situation of infrastructure's responsiveness in production - Actual situation of human resource responsiveness - Status of technological responsiveness in production - Actual situation of responsiveness in terms of input materials 3.4.3 Evaluate the state of adaptation of US technical barriers to trade in agricultural products 3.4.3.1 Achievements Firstly, the exporters are aware of the importance of improving their ability to adapt to the six US technical barriers to trade. Secondly, state management agencies have carried out many activities to support businesses to adapt to the US technical barriers, including: effective participation in international organizations; Successfully negotiated with the United States on the recognition of equivalent standards to the US recognition of the equivalent of a food safety control system; Negotiate to expand markets for agricultural products; Establishing an early warning system and anti-dumping; Building and developing a secure food, agriculture and forestry food supply chain 18 Thirdly, industry associations carry out activities to support businesses to adapt to technical barriers, including: Supporting export enterprises to conduct trade promotion, brand and product promotion activities. on the export market; Provide information about changes in export markets for businesses; Support businesses on legal issues. Providing information, consulting policies, laws and supporting the settlement of international trade disputes; Some associations have performed well in foreign affairs and cooperation with international organizations, participating in international litigation to protect interests and enhance the position of the industry in the international community, promoting project of technical assistance, production support of the international community for Vietnam. 3.4.3.2 The limitation Firstly, enterprises are not fully and comprehensively aware of TBT of import market. Secondly, the problems exist in the support of state management agencies: The information connection between enterprises and export markets is limited; Linkage between production and consumption, links with domestic and foreign suppliers remains weak; Not effectively participating in the global supply chain of agricultural products; The work of supporting enterprises in trade promotion activities has not been effective Thirdly, the problems that exist in the support from the industry association: have not promoted their role and voice; Not implemented well activities to support businesses 3.4.3.3 Reasons Vietnam has not developed a clear export strategy; The competitiveness of Vietnamese export enterprises is still weak; Government support for exporting enterprises is limited. 19 CHAPTER 4: ORIENTATION AND SOLUTIONS TO ADAPT TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE FOR VIETNAMESE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED TO THE US MARKET ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CPTPP 4.1 Trends of application of technical barriers in world agricultural trade and export prospects for Vietnam 4.1.1 Trends of application of technical barriers in world trade in agricultural products In the context of tariff barriers being removed, subsidies and subsidies excluded, administrative procedures in import and export management are increasingly reduced, technical barriers are taken advantage of by countries. to protect domestic production and the interests of the community of that country. Most countries use technical barriers as a secret weapon to protect domestic trade. For their own purposes, each country has developed regulations and standards to such an extent that the goods of other countries are difficult to meet or meet at a much higher cost than before, or otherwise. Standard variables, technical standards and conformity assessment procedures into technical barriers. The rise of the intangible technical barriers has now created a poorly ventilated trade environment, detrimental to the process of trade liberalization on a regional and global scale. Some comments on the trend of changing technical barriers in trade of countries around the world according to the following trends: - Trends of increasing technical barrie