On June 5, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam – Deputy Director of the National Sanitation and Plant Quarantine Information and Enquiry Office (SPS Vietnam), Ministry of Agriculture and Environment – had a working session with Ms. Bagie Sherchand, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Joint Ventures of the National Cooperative Alliance of the United States (NCBA CLUSA International).
At the meeting, the two sides discussed the possibility of technical cooperation in the field of SPS to support enterprises exporting agricultural products, especially fruits and vegetables, to better meet the regulations of the US market.
Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam said that SPS Vietnam is the national focal point for implementing commitments related to SPS within the framework of the WTO and FTAs. The office has the role of guiding and supporting enterprises and localities in complying with the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements of import markets, including the US – a market that sets very high SPS standards.
“Currently, the capacity of Vietnamese farmers, cooperatives and enterprises in meeting SPS standards is still limited. We hope to receive technical support, information sharing and governance models; at the same time, increase the application of digital technology in early warning of technical barriers, helping enterprises to be more proactive in exporting”, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam emphasized.
On the US side, Ms. Bagie Sherchand said that NCBA CLUSA hopes to better understand the difficulties of businesses on both sides in the fruit and vegetable sector – from procedures, technical barriers to non-standardized factors – in order to coordinate to resolve them. The unit also hopes to provide technical support and promote bilateral trade, especially with fruit and vegetable products from Vietnam to the US market.
Also at the meeting, the two sides assessed that the legal regulations related to fruit import and export in Vietnam are currently quite complete, but the actual implementation still has many points that make businesses confused, especially in completing procedures and clearly understanding the SPS requirements of the partner side.
Ms. Sherchand commented that US businesses also face similar difficulties, so we think that there should be more substantive exchanges to simplify the process, promote technology application, and facilitate trade.
Sharing about the general orientation, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam said that SPS is the key for businesses of the two countries to expand trade opportunities in a harmonious and sustainable manner. Success in agricultural trade comes not only from signed memoranda of understanding, but also from containers crossing the border without encountering technical problems. Meeting SPS regulations is a “trade passport” that helps Vietnamese agricultural products affirm their position in the international market.
Previously, Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam also had a working session with Mr. Dean Smith – an expert on agriculture and economic growth of the Partnership for the Americas – to discuss in more depth the possibility of coordination in the agricultural sector between Vietnam and the United States.
Source: https://haiquanonline.com.vn/hop-tac-sps-thuc-chat-co-hoi-moi-cho-nong-san-viet-vao-my-196659.html