Third, we can learn from Thailand in the state's willingness to support businesses when necessary when faced with international disputes. When the EU raised the issue of chemicals in Thai shrimp and chicken products, the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives immediately helped businesses to carry out procedures so that the European Council could clarify Thailand's current strategies and future plans in addressing issues related to chemicals in these two products. In addition, the Thai government also proactively cooperated with the EU to implement a single standard for inspecting imported goods from Thailand. At the same time, it requested technological and knowledge assistance for organic products of Thai businesses .
II. Group of solutions at macro level
1. Improve the legal environment towards enhancing measures
measures to encourage the production and consumption of productsTTMT
Firstly , currently in Vietnam there is no official program on developing and certifying environmentally friendly products. In other words, there is no official national NST program in operation, so the Vietnamese government needs to issue detailed and clear regulations on:
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- Organizational structure of the national NST program of Vietnam
- Product/product group selection procedure
- Product environmental criteria design procedure
Second, it is necessary to add to the list of restricted and prohibited import items because of their negative impact on the environment. This could be the addition of
700 environmentally unfriendly items listed by the United Nations, and the list of toxic additives and foods in the FAO list
and WTO. The State needs to strictly control this issue and should soon add it to the list of restricted and prohibited import items to avoid rampant importation, which is also a measure to protect the environment and protect people's health. Detail the regulations and list of goods, add HS codes for missing import and export items. Most importantly, Vietnam needs to provide a specific list of goods that need import control in accordance with international practices and treaties that Vietnam has signed and participated in.
Third, the government needs to issue specific TTMT standards for products. Clearly specify how much energy a product saves, what level of waste reduction during the production process... to be considered an TTMT product.
Fourth, it is necessary to issue more policies on consumption and circulation of goods, especially focusing on prioritizing the use of environmentally friendly products, raising people's awareness in consuming green products.
Fifth, build and perfect the Law on intellectual property rights, including technological secrets, environmentally friendly technical solutions, inventions related to the production of environmentally friendly products and inventions that solve urgent environmental problems today...
Sixth, strengthen measures to support enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises, in meeting environmental regulations and standards. Support policies can include preferential tax policies for specific products on the condition that those products are environmentally friendly. Reduce bank interest rates or provide long-term credit with low interest rates for the agricultural and aquatic sectors, especially the clean production sector, to support producers in these sectors to meet the strict requirements of LCA. Tax reduction for income of enterprises producing environmentally friendly products. Funds can be established.
Environmental protection, encouraging businesses to produce and supply green products, applying fees and charges to pollution sources.
Seventh, the state needs to review and revise investment policies in a more reasonable manner. These policies need to regulate the selection of investors to ensure safety and environmental protection factors. The state needs to introduce reasonable policies, closely linking the responsibility of enterprises and the social community in environmental protection.
Eighth, the state needs to issue policies to encourage the development of environmental enterprises and the development of environmental technology.
In short, the urgent thing that the government needs to do is to rebuild a new, more suitable legal framework and improve trade and environmental policies on the following basis:
- Trade and environmental policies must encourage producers to
Domestic and foreign investment and development in a sustainable and environmentally friendly direction. Through legal policies, the state can encourage businesses to pay attention to improving the competitiveness of goods through creating green products, especially NST labeling.
- State policies and regulations need to focus on supporting businesses to import technological lines and machinery that meet standards related to environmentally friendly production and processing methods and create environmentally friendly products for the domestic market, and these products are capable of meeting the requirements and overcoming the green barriers of the import market.
2.Solutions for developing the NST program in Vietnam
2.1 Design and development of a Thai NST program in Vietnam
Currently, when many countries in the world have built their own chromosome granting programs, each country's program has a different type of chromosome (picture). But in Vietnam alone, although there has been a plan for a long time, there has never been a chromosome for its own country.
Therefore, the first thing to do is to implement a product design program. It is important that this product properly reflects Vietnam's environmental protection viewpoint by encouraging environmentally friendly products.
2.2 International cooperation on NST
NST is the top priority issue for development if we want to develop TTMT products today. Because, as we know, NST is to certify TTMT products, reputable NST granting programs will make consumers feel secure and confident when consuming TTMT products.
Currently, the world has common standards for the issue of chromosomes. To develop and catch up with the general international trend, the chromosome granting program in Vietnam needs to proactively strengthen international cooperation, expand and take advantage of scientific and professional assistance as well as funding from countries, financial organizations, non-governmental organizations, major international centers, etc.
Coordinating with NST programs from countries around the world will be very beneficial for Vietnam to grasp experiences and exchange valuable information; creating favorable conditions for sectors and industries in the fields of trade and environment in the country to have the opportunity to dialogue with foreign countries.
3. Develop and amend national standards in accordance with the system.
international standard system
3.1 Building a national standards system
Building a national standards system is of utmost importance in promoting business activities. Thanks to that, businesses can meet environmental requirements for domestic products as well as in import markets to enhance the competitiveness of products in both countries.
domestic and international markets. An environmental system built on a scientific basis, in compliance with and in accordance with international standards, taking into account the specific conditions of domestic enterprises will be an effective tool for environmental management and product quality. Therefore, it will encourage enterprises to participate in research, development and production of environmentally friendly products.
Reality shows that our country's standardization capacity is still low, so we need to perfect the national standards system to suit.
conforms to ISO 14000 standards.
The State needs to add more clear regulations for TTMT products: for example, TTMT packaging standards, standards for clean products, standards on product energy saving...
3.2 Develop criteria for environmentally friendly products - grant NST to products
It can be said that product and product group selection is an extremely important step in evaluating TTMT products. In fact, in the NST programs of countries, we can see that, depending on the environmental priorities of each country and each region, we can focus on specific issues to determine appropriate product criteria to be able to choose the most accurate and reasonable product/product group.
We can establish criteria thanks to LCA: considering impacts throughout the entire product life cycle. This criteria establishment process should, on the one hand, be based on previous countries, and on the other hand, should be both developed and learned from experience. But what is certain is that these criteria must be at least compatible with ISO standards (mentioned in Chapter I). But first of all, in the current situation of Vietnam, the establishment of criteria should be limited to evaluating the attributes of the final product, then when the NST program has become more popular, it should be improved and expanded to evaluate other processes. In the initial stage of the program, the following basic groups of criteria can be applied:
- Save energy, raw materials, fuel
- Generates less waste
- Recyclable and reusable
- Reduce pollution and improve soil, water and air environment.
Besides, the criteria must be clearly established, combining both qualitative and quantitative indicators. It should be noted that the criteria must be at an achievable level to encourage businesses to participate in the program. They should not be set too high, but also not too low.
In addition, changing criteria towards increasing standards must also take place regularly, according to the experience of each country, every 3-5 years.
Finally, based on the current situation in Vietnam, the products and product groups that should be selected to build criteria are: household appliances, office equipment, means of transport, machinery, mechanics, furniture and decoration, construction materials and machinery, packaging materials, garment products, craft village products, agricultural products, safety and medical equipment, energy, ecological services, tourism, environmental research and development activities, technology and equipment related to the environment...
4. Implement measures to support businesses
Research, development and production of environmentally friendly products require large financial costs to help businesses change their technology.
meet the conditions of cleaner production. Enterprises must invest from the stage of purchasing raw materials that do not or are less harmful to the environment to production that meets the criteria of environmental friendliness for products. The biggest question for Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises when manufacturing products to achieve environmental certifications.
(NST) is also a problem of limited finance. Therefore, the state needs support.
Finance for businesses through regional support, funding by business units, with adequate support for businesses that value investing in developing green products for the environment.
Not only that, Vietnamese enterprises when participating in international trade lack business information, especially information on environmental standards related to exported goods. Therefore, the state can support.
Regularly provide necessary information to businesses through conferences, seminars, free information channels, the Internet (government websites, especially those of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment)... to help businesses have the most timely information.
One important aspect that the government needs to focus on is human resource training, not only in businesses but also in the public sector.
All certification inspection units. To do this, it is necessary to invest in training courses for experts in building and assessing environmental standards, upgrading specialized equipment for assessment work, building new centers that meet international standards, organizing training courses for environmental officers on international standards and how to guide businesses.
In addition, the state can also support businesses in resolving disputes related to the competitiveness of products; by measures such as: supporting businesses in negotiating and resolving cases before making unfavorable decisions for the business. Through these support measures, the legitimate rights of Vietnamese export businesses are protected against green barriers in international trade.
Finally, the state can have export rewards and penalties for enterprises exporting environmentally friendly goods and products, especially agricultural products, in accordance with the set standards (in accordance with equivalent international standards in the importing country's market).
will enjoy procedural and financial support; and conversely, products that do not pass the environmental criteria may have their exports suspended until the enterprise finds a way to improve the environmental friendliness of its products in accordance with international standards. And a more important issue is the requirement that all exported products belong to the
Products/product groups that have been established criteria must be labeled with NST. This is both a measure to put NST into more popular use, and on the other hand, it also helps businesses to be aware of the importance of NST in international trade - NST is a tool to help their products.
overcome the green barrier and penetrate the international market.
5. Credit solutions
- There is a special and suitable mechanism to develop credit types, meeting the high and diverse capital needs of enterprises to invest in developing TTMT products,
- Allow localities to issue investment bonds or borrow foreign capital under conditional government guarantee to invest in environmental programs.
- Establish a fund to support clean production enterprises and participate in the NST program.
6. Strengthen promotional measures - raise awareness of consumers and businesses about production and consumption issues.
use environmentally friendly products
This is an important measure that the government, especially the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, needs to strengthen implementation. Because currently the issue of developing environmentally friendly products is not yet popular in Vietnam. Many businesses, especially small and medium enterprises, are still indifferent to change.
and develop technology to produce products whose features
The product does not cause harm to the environment, but it does not