Illustrative image (Source: VNA)
Hanoi – The National Standardisation
Strategy for 2030, once issued, is expected to contribute to raising the
efficiency of building and applying standards as well as the internationalisation
of national standards, an official has said.
Ha Minh Hiep, Deputy Director General of the Directorate
for Standards, Metrology and Quality, said the strategy will also help
accelerate the formation of a national standard system to promote technological
innovation and raise the productivity and quality of goods.
It will prescribe basic principles and orientations,
build a master action programme, and develop mid- and long-term standard systems
at the national or global levels, Hiep continued.
According to Pham Thao Phuong, deputy head of the
department of standards under the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and
Quality, the strategy sets the specific targets like issuing Vietnamese
standards for national and key products, and raising Vietnam’s harmonisation
rate with international, regional and foreign standards to at least 65% by
2025 and 70-75% by 2030.
As Vietnam is integrating into the global economy and has become a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) forum, as well as new-generation free trade agreements, the country has
to observe stringent regulations and requirements on technical standards in
foreign markets.
In fact, Vietnamese goods draw warnings from foreign
countries repeatedly due to their failure in satisfying technical standards and
barriers set by importers.
The Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification
Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) under the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development reported that last year it received nearly 1,000 notices
relating to food safety and animal and plant quarantine. The complaints are up
10% year-on-year, mostly from Japan with 83 notices, followed by Brazil, the
EU, Canada, and the US.
Over the past time, the Party and the Government
have issued many guidelines, policies and mechanisms aiming to step up the
building of standards, making them an effective tool in sustainable
socio-economic development and improving national competitiveness.
However, limitations still remain in the standardisation
process due to the lack of attention, incentives and data, along with difficulties
relating to personnel and equipment./.
