Laws of Vietnam

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to February 5, 2007 Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW of the fourth plenum of the Xth Party Central Committee on some major guidelines and policies for rapid and sustainable economic development when Vietnam becomes a member of the World Trade Organization;

At the proposal of the Minister of Trade and the Minister-Director of the Government Office,

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Resolution the Government's program of action in implementation of the Resolution of the fourth plenum of the Xth Party Central Committee on some major guidelines and policies for rapid and sustainable economic development when Vietnam becomes a member of the World Trade Organization.

Article 2.- This Resolution takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Article 3.- Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall implement this Resolution.

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG

I. OBJECTIVES

The fourth plenum of the Xth Party Central Committee adopted a resolution on some major guidelines and policies for rapid and sustainable economic development when Vietnam becomes a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This Program of Action defines the tasks of central and local state administrative agencies and enterprises of all economic sectors in implementing the Resolution of the Party Central Committee with a view to taking advantage of opportunities and surmounting challenges to take our country into a new, rapid and sustainable development period.

II. MAJOR TASKS

In order to achieve the above objectives, in the coming time, in addition to their regular tasks, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities, and enterprises should concretize and implement the following basic tasks.

1. Propaganda and dissemination of information on WTO

a/ To organize thorough study of the Resolution among cadres, state employees and servants as well as the entire people to help them deeply perceive Party viewpoints on international economic integration, WTO accession, opportunities and challenges facing Vietnam as a WTO member, promote a sense of self-reliance and resilience, mobilize internal resources, take advantage of opportunities and surmount challenges to successfully perform socio-economic tasks determined by the Xth National Party Congress, thereby ensuring national rapid and sustainable development after Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization.

b/ To use various communication channels and media and hold training courses to disseminate information on opportunities and challenges when Vietnam becomes a WTO member and our specific commitments among relevant entities (state agencies, production and business entities and trade associations) with a view to raising their knowledge about these commitments and what to be done. To direct information in accordance with Party line and State policies, promptly correct erroneous information on WTO accession effects. To assist, through the mass media, enterprises in firmly grasping our socio-economic development policies and WTO rules and regulations.

c/ To provide training for state management agencies in charge of investment activities to ensure the investment evaluation and certification process in accordance with Vietnam's international commitments.

2. Legislation and institutional building

a/ To strictly implement Vietnam's accession commitments and other obligations as a WTO member; to identify commitments to be promptly materialized and those to be incorporated into national laws for elaborating a program on revision of laws, ordinances and sub-law documents.

b/ To review the legal system in force, abolish overlapping and inappropriate regulations; to promulgate clear, specific legal documents ensuring a favorable and open business environment for all entities participating in the market.

c/ To devise mechanisms in support of investment and product development in conformity with WTO regulations in replacement of export subsidization measures.

d/ To improve technical standards and food hygiene and safety standards in conformity with international regulations with a view to protecting the domestic market and consumers.

3. Establishment and development of all elements of a market economy

a/ Labor market:

To improve institutions of a labor market; to build a system of regulations and policies conducive to development of the labor market; to fully comply with the market mechanism in paying wages to laborers.

b/ Real estate market:

- To make a general inventory of land in all localities and establishments; to make a general inventory of houses and working offices of state agencies and socio-political organizations; to recover, and make plans for efficient use of, land, offices and houses which are currently used for improper purposes or in contravention of law;

- To make a plan and roadmap for the application of market-driven land allocation prices and land rents, including land rents payable by state enterprises;

- To formulate mechanisms and policies for more effective participation of foreign investors in the real estate market;

- To formulate uniform, public and transparent real estate registration mechanisms and processes, creating conditions for making real estate transactions healthy and ensuring their legal safety, thereby boosting business and investment.

c/ Financial-monetary market:

- To revise and supplement regulations on business conditions in the domains of securities, banking, insurance, investment funds and other financial services in conformity with international standards and practice, contributing to raising the capability of forecasting, preventing and reducing possible risks and incidents, ensuring the healthy and effective development of the financial and monetary market;

- To develop systems of criteria and grounds for assessing the operational quality and efficiency of enterprises providing financial services; to promulgate regulations on enterprise supervision and monitoring, compulsory audit and information disclosure applicable to these enterprises;

- To build a scheme on transforming the State Bank into a central bank to ensure its independence in making and implementing monetary policies on the market principles;

- To comprehensively develop the system of credit institutions toward modernity, multi-purpose operation, diversity in ownership forms and types of credit institution, large-scale operation and sound finance; to create a firm premise for credit institutions to meet all international standards on banking operation and operate competitively in the region and the world; at the same time to ensure autonomy and accountability of state credit institutions on the market principles and for profit-making purposes.

d/ Price policy:

- To build a roadmap for the application of market prices for those goods and services the prices of which are still set by the State; to support and encourage trade associations and enterprises' organizations to work out a pricing roadmap for important products turned out in large quantities with a view to ensuring stable and sustainable development and harmonization of interests;

e/ Scientific and technological market:

- To promulgate a technology import policy to encourage the formation of technology import and export companies, especially in sectors and domains with great demands;

- To promulgate specific regulations to promote scientific and technological research, application and development institutions to switch to operate under the enterprise mechanism, and to form scientific and technological enterprises;

- To promulgate regulations on supports for research and development on a contractual basis between technological research enterprises and technological application enterprises;

- To set up a national technology renewal fund and a venture investment fund in the scientific and technological domain with a view to vigorously promoting technological development and renewal in all sectors and domains;

- To study and form mechanisms for closely linking higher education with scientific and technological development with a view to raising the scientific research and technological development capacity of universities and colleges, which is regarded as an important task of these universities and colleges in addition to the training task;

- To adopt policies to encourage development of support services in intellectual property and technology transfer and of consultancy services, policies to promote development of technology marketplaces, technology fairs, technology exhibitions, technology nurseries and technology enterprise nurseries; to form technology trading centers in big economic regions;

f/ To conduct a general review of other factors that are hindering the synchronous formation of a market economy, especially in the domains where state enterprises still hold monopoly or major shares and the domains and entities that are enjoying discriminatory supports, with a view to building a roadmap for elimination.

4. Renewal of investment and raising of investment effectiveness

a/ To promulgate mechanisms and policies to diversify investment capital sources; to create a special mechanism to attract foreign investors with financial capacity, technologies and management experience to invest in developing traffic infrastructure and energy;

b/ To promulgate regulations on decentralization of powers to make investment in infrastructure toward greater concentration with a view to ensuring overall effectiveness of the economy;

c/ To work out a scheme on adjusting the overall strategy on development of commodity production sectors; to build a system of service codes and formulate a strategy on development of services; to adjust the strategy on development of commodity products and services in response to the requirement of applying modern technologies and ensuring competitiveness as an investment guideline for enterprises;

d/ To promulgate policies of managing and encouraging indirect investment forms so as to create the possibility of diversifying investment sources, increase flexibility and connectivity of the domestic capital market with the international capital market while ensuring safety and stability of macro economy;

e/ To develop a competitive electricity market, diversify electricity supply sources and ensure sufficient electricity for production and business sectors and the people's consumption.

5. Raising of competitiveness

a/ To elaborate a scheme on raising competitiveness at national level; to synchronously develop a program on raising enterprise competitiveness and a program on raising the competitiveness of goods and services;

b/ Through analyzing the competitiveness of sectors and domains, line state management ministries and trade associations shall select some typical enterprises and analyze their competitiveness, serving as a basis for enterprises within relevant sectors to analyze on their own their competitiveness;

c/ To make plans on export development and plans on domestic market expansion until 2010 in accordance with the Scheme on export development in the 2006-2010 period, the Scheme on development of domestic trade and various programs on development of commodity sectors on the basis of analyzing the competitiveness of products, and formulating a program on raising enterprise competitiveness.

6. Administrative reform, raising of effectiveness of foreign relation activities and international economic integration

a/ To rearrange state agencies to meet the requirement of multiple-sector and multiple-domain management, organize their apparatuses to meet the requirement and task of international economic integration, put an end to functional overlap and low effectiveness in the formulation and implementation of policies and laws;

b/ To improve the organization and operational mechanism of the agencies in charge of competitiveness administration, combat against subsidies and dumping and settlement of trade disputes, and market control forces;

c/ To continue reviewing administrative procedures in order to abolish unnecessary papers and procedures; to make public and transparent all management policies and mechanisms, operational processes, responsible persons and time limits for work completion in state agencies and public service-providing units for enterprises and people to know, carry out and supervise reforms of taxation and customs procedures and mechanisms, and step up the implementation of the e-customs roadmap;

d/ To promulgate a new system of decentralization under a general scheme of the Government, ensuring systematicality and compatibility between all sectors; to promulgate a mechanism of supervising the implementation of decentralization, and associate decentralization with examination and oversight;

e/ To build a mechanism of consultation with managed entities and enterprises in the process of formulating policies and laws in conformity with the WTO publicity and transparency principles;

f/ To improve state employees' criteria in response to integration requirements; to train and build a contingent of professional and modern state employees; to improve the law on state employees, attaching importance to increasing powers to heads of units, removing from the state apparatus those employees who harass and trouble people and enterprises and who are incapable and irresponsible while performing their duties;

g/ To strengthen overseas Vietnamese representative missions so that they can effectively implement the Party's and State's foreign relation and international economic integration line; to reinforce officials who are knowledgeable about economics and international trade, are dynamic and have a high sense of responsibility; to promote the proactive role of these missions in coordinating with domestic enterprises and relevant agencies in market development, export, tourism promotion and investment attraction; to assist enterprises in protecting Vietnam's interests in trade disputes;

h/ To set up Vietnam's representative mission at the headquarters of the WTO which has sufficient and quality staffs and can coordinate with domestic agencies, effectively operate and participate in multilateral and bilateral negotiations with WTO member states;

i/ To re-assess the role and effectiveness of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation after WTO accession, elaborate a scheme on mechanisms and organization of interdisciplinary coordination in international negotiations on bilateral and multilateral cooperation to ensure effectiveness and suitability to the new situation and tasks.

7. Education and training and human resource development

a/ To formulate an overall program on education reform, covering from program content, teaching and learning methods to examinations, in association with the campaign against negative phenomena in the education service and policies towards teachers;

b/ To develop a scheme on training and retraining teachers, first of all teachers of natural sciences and technology and vocational training;

c/ To promulgate mechanisms and policies to encourage all economic sectors, including foreign investors, to invest in developing higher education, collegial training, intermediate professional and vocational training, especially in the disciplines of technique - technology, international law, finance - accounting, business administration, etc., in the public, people-founded and private, and foreign-invested forms;

d/ To equitize on a pilot basis public schools;

e/ To make plans on training lawyers who are knowledgeable about international law, skilled in participating in international proceedings and proficient in foreign languages so that they can effectively deal with possible disputes in the process of implementing WTO commitments and other regulations; to train accounting, audit, business administration consultants and experts with international-level qualifications, and improve regulations on accounting, audit, finance and bankruptcy in conformity with international standards;

f/ To formulate and implement a national program on teaching English and other common foreign languages;

g/ To formulate and implement policies to attract, use and properly treat outstanding specialists and talented people at home and abroad, including foreigners, who contribute to national development.

8. Agricultural modernization and rural development

a/ To study and supplement legal provisions to encourage various models of cooperatives, establish linkages among farmer households engaged in agricultural production, aquaculture and exploitation of marine resources and between them and processing establishments and trading enterprises with a view to forming large-scale commodity production areas in close combination with managing the growth process, managing quality and supplying market information to production entities;

b/ To study and formulate policies to accelerate the process of land accumulation in association with switching agricultural labor to other trades and sectors;

c/ To promulgate policies to encourage vigorous development of enterprises and joint-stock cooperatives engaged in agricultural and industrial production and provision of services in rural areas, develop trade villages and industrial and service clusters and form new townships and townlets in rural areas;

d/ To promulgate policies to encourage farmers to purchase shares in agricultural and marine product-processing establishments, thereby forming co-ownership by raw material producers in processing establishments, increasing farmers' incomes, and ensuring quality and stability in the supply of raw materials for the processing industry;

e/ To promulgate policies to encourage industrial production enterprises to employ untrained laborers so as to create jobs on the spot, contribute to reducing labor pressure in big cities; at the same time to promulgate policies to attract investment in opening vocational training establishments to train rural laborers in new job skills;

f/ To industrialize and urbanize rural areas along with implementing social policies to reduce poverty and improve living conditions for the people; to formulate a scheme on developing community tourism in combination with hunger eradication and poverty alleviation and rural economic restructuring;

g/ To review the implementation of the guideline on the association of the "four parties" and the signing of purchase and sale contracts with farmers under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 80/2002/QD-TTg, clearly identifying the reasons for its limited results so as to make adjustments and solutions to expanding this movement;

h/ To promulgate a mechanism to support investment in building warehouses and wholesale markets with a view to expanding rural markets and increasing the capability of regulating goods volumes on the market;

i/ To formulate and implement programs on comprehensive socio-economic development in difficulty-hit areas, mountainous and ethnic minority areas to assist local inhabitants in developing production and improving their living, travel and schooling conditions; to increase cultural benefits and information access for local inhabitants with a view to limiting and narrowing the development gap with other regions;

j/ To adjust and amend regulations in order to reduce farmers' contributions (such as charges, fund contributions, etc.).

9. Implementation of social welfare policies

a/ To formulate and promulgate a package of social policies, including those on financial support, self-employment support, vocational training for job change, and provision of employment and market information counseling services for laborers who lose jobs when their enterprises cannot survive competition;

b/ To build mechanisms to ensure social welfare on the principle of joint contribution and share by the State, enterprises and laborers;

c/ To formulate a scheme on reform of social insurance benefits; to review the implementation of the campaign on voluntary social insurance for farmers who have passed the working age in localities when this campaign is implemented (farmer retirement benefits) in order to carry out this campaign on a wider scale;

d/ To elaborate a scheme on the unemployment insurance fund; to continue salary reforms till 2010;

e/ To study and promulgate a common minimum wage applicable to both foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises and an implementation roadmap. To apply a common wage mechanism to enterprises of all economic sectors on the market principle;

f/ To adjust laws and policies on labor relations in accordance with realities, supplement and improve labor relation institutions so that the tripartite and bipartite mechanisms can effectively contribute to establishing sound labor relations;

g/ To devise a mechanism of periodical assessment and warning on WTO accession impacts that are and will be occurring in socio-economic domains based on criteria so as to work out appropriate policies; to review and evaluate the country's socio-economic situation after five years of WTO accession.

10. Environmental protection and sustainable development

a/ To improve the legal system on environmental protection; to review environmental standards and adjust and supplement them toward incrementally reaching international ones;

b/ To formulate and carry out schemes on environmental protection in river basins, nature and biodiversity conservation, marine and coastal environment protection, raising of environment observation capacity, and development of environmental technology and environmental industry;

c/ To study and promulgate policies to step up socialization of environmental protection work, establish environmental associations, build a system of environmental information and reports, and accelerate environmental communication work.

11. Protection and promotion of national cultural values

a/ To build and apply an early warning mechanism and work out sanctions against the penetration of unhealthy cultural products and services that are detrimental to national development with a view to preserving Vietnamese cultural traditions and people.

b/ To establish mechanisms that facilitate the development of cultural industries and services; to step up socialization of cultural activities; to support investment in, finance and place appropriate goods orders for the purpose of developing culture and protecting Vietnamese cultural diversity;

c/ To step up enforcement of the law on intellectual property rights protection, creating the most favorable environment for the creation of spiritual values of the society;

d/ To further consolidate and develop the mass media, attaching importance to the network of radio and television broadcasting, publication and distribution of cultural products; to raise the information quality of press agencies; to raise the effectiveness and improve the quality of information technology infrastructure; to amend and improve the Press Law.

12. Assurance of security and defense

a/ To closely direct the building of an all-people defense and people's security, firmly safeguard the national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity in all circumstances;

b/ To work out plans for the combat against the peaceful evolution process and regime transformation plots of hostile forces; to firmly preserve political security, information security, social stability, order and safety in light of rapid and complicated developments of the globalization process, while meeting the requirements and tasks of international economic integration;

c/ To develop mechanisms to effectively deal with cross-border and non-traditional security issues that tend to be on the increase.

1. On the basis of major tasks set forth in this Program of Action and their assigned functions and tasks, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall personally direct the formulation of programs of action for their respective ministries, branches and localities, and report them to the Prime Minister before September 30, 2007; then concretize these programs of action into tasks in annual work plans. For tasks that are not required to be performed under schemes or programs, they should be performed immediately in order to ensure timely and effective implementation of the contents of the Program of Action.

2. Ministers of line management ministries and presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall coordinate with commodity sector associations in directing and guiding the formulation of programs of action of enterprises.

3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and presidents of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall direct and intensify the examination and urge the implementation of this Program of Action; to periodically report on the implementation to the Prime Minister.

4. In the course of implementation of this Program of Action, if finding it necessary to amend and supplement any specific contents of the Program, ministries, branches and localities should promptly report such to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

5. The Minister of Trade and the Minister-Director of the Government Office shall base themselves on their assigned functions and tasks to monitor and urge the implementation of this Program of Action by ministries, branches and localities and enterprises, periodically report and propose to the Government and the Prime Minister necessary measures to ensure the effective and coordinated implementation of this Program.