Illustrative image. (Photo: tapchitaichinh.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (VCCI) in coordination with the Central Institute for EconomicManagement (CIEM) on November 10 organised a virtual seminar on theimplementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP) from the law-making perspective.

The seminar is held within the framework of the Australian-fundedprogramme, Aus4Reform, which assists the Vietnamese Government in achieving its goal ofimproving the business environment and modernising the national economy.

The CPTPP has a direct impact on many of Vietnam's domesticlegal institutions. Therefore, amending and developing domestic legalregulations to ensure compatibility with commitments is the most important taskin the implementation of the agreement.

Charles Thursby-Pelham, First Secretary of the AustralianEmbassy in Vietnam, said that the comprehensive review of law-making activitiesto implement the CPTPP is useful for State agencies, the VCCI, associations andeach business when assessing the benefits from this agreement. The results willalso be helpful for the next steps in the implementation of the CPTPP inparticular and free trade agreements (FTAs) in general in the future.

On behalf of the research team, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Directorof the Centre for WTO and Integration under VCCI, said a total of 11 legaldocuments have been issued to carry out the commitments of CPTPP immediatelyand four documents are being drafted for the implementation of the CPTPPcommitments in line with the roadmap in the 2019-2021 period.

An overview of the seminar. (Photo courtesy of VCCI)

According to Trang, most of the provisions in legal documentsare compatible with the CPTPP commitments that have been"internalised".  Some regulations are at a higher level than required or with anearlier roadmap, she said.

Trang also made recommendations to improve the efficiency oflaw-making in the implementation of the CPTPP as well as newly signed FTAs,such as the review of regulations' compatibility with FTA commitments and the building of law-making plans need to be done in a more inclusive manner.

The compilation of legal documents should be done as soon aspossible and the compiling agency should pay special attention to consultingthe affected subjects, she said, adding that the process of implementingcommitments needs to be regularly monitored and inadequacies should be promptly dealtwith.

♋ The seminar and research report on law-making efforts toimplement the CPTPP are part of the VCCI's series of activities to supportbusinesses relating to CPTPP and FTAs. In the coming time, VCCI will continue to carry out events toprovide information on the commitments and the implementation of FTAsin order to support businesses as well as relevant state agencies to bringmaximum benefits for Vietnam's economy during the implementation of theseagreements./.