National Specialized Management Expert 1: Support and Technical Assistance to Support the Ministry of Industry and Trade to Conduct Assessment on Imports-exports Specialized Management

USAID Trade Facilitation Program

SCOPE OF WORK

Support and technical assistance to support the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to conduct assessment on imports-exports specialized management

Proposed Personnel:           Local/National Specialized Management Expert 1

Period of Performance:       o/a 1 October - 31 January 2023

Level of Effort:                    48 days

Origin/Destination:             Hanoi, Vietnam

Travel Dates:                       n/a

Activity No.                          FY21-1.3.4 – Specialized inspection reform with the MOIT

MEL indicator(s):                 P-1, IR1-1, IR1.2-2, IR3.1-1, IR3.1-2, IR4.1-1, IR4.1-2 and CLBD-9

Project Background:

The USAID Trade Facilitation Program is a five-year project that aims to support the adoption and implementation of a more risk–based approach to customs and SI institutions in Vietnam. The Program will work with the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) to strengthen the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) of Vietnam and its Working Groups; streamline border clearance procedures (including Specialized Inspection (SI) implemented by other line ministries and agencies); harmonize the implementation of risk-based approaches between national and provincial levels; train national and provincial customs officers and staff from other ministries on risk management; and facilitate dialogue between customs and business and between stakeholders in Hanoi and in the provinces.

Activity Background:

Objective: The aim is to provide further technical assistance and support to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to conduct assessment on specialized management for products and goods under the management of other line ministries other than the MOIT.  

Background: Reform of administrative procedures for SI has been a key aim and objective of the Government of Vietnam (GVN) for the last few years. The aim is to simplify and streamline import-export activities; cut down clearance times; and reduce costs thereby facilitating international trade, enhancing national competitiveness and improving the business environment in Vietnam. To do this, the GVN has introduced a number of initiatives and issued legal instruments, e.g., Resolutions 19 and 02[1] and Decision 1254/QD-TTg which identified a series of tasks for relevant line ministries and agencies to comprehensively reform the SI of exports and imports. Despite these initiatives and reforms, the number of goods subject to SI remains at a high level (i.e., 19.1% of different types of goods imported still required SI at the end of 2018)[2]. In the latest Doing Business Report[3] released by the World Bank in October 2019, Vietnam fell 4 places in the rankings for Trading Across Borders from 100 to 104 in 2020 report however Vietnam’s overall Ease of Doing Business ranking remains in top 5 for region after other countries in ASEAN (i.e., Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei). The main problem lies in the institutional issues where there remains an urgent need to simplify several aspects of specialized management and inspection.

Article 6 of the Law on Foreign Trade Management stipulates the responsibilities for state management of foreign trade of ministries and ministerial-level agencies. For goods imported or exported under permits and conditions, Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP assigns ministries and ministerial-level agencies to promulgate or submit to competent authorities promulgate detailed regulations on the granting of export and import permits in accordance with the provisions of law and the granting of permits in accordance with regulations.

Ministries and ministerial-level agencies are assigned detailed regulations, including: Ministry of Transport (MOT) (Signals of all kinds for maritime safety); Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) (Samples of endangered wild animals and plants; plant varieties, livestock, aquatic products, fertilizers...); Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) (scrap); Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) (All kinds of publications (books, newspapers, magazines, paintings, photos, calendars)); Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST); Ministry of Health (MOH); State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) (raw gold).

Since Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP was issued so far, many ministries and ministerial-level agencies have issued or submitted to competent authorities for promulgation documents detailing the list of goods banned from export. Import and export bans shall be enclosed with HS codes and detailed regulations on the issuance of import and export permits in accordance with legal regulations. However, there are still many ministries and ministerial-level agencies that have not yet implemented this regulation, leading to inconsistencies in implementation.

In addition, according to the provisions of the Law on Foreign Trade Management, some types of goods when exported or imported request a certificate of free sale (CFS) issued by a competent authority. The Government assigns ministries and ministerial-level agencies to publish in detail the List of imported goods subject to CFS attached with HS codes on the basis of the List of goods issued by the Government attached with Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP. On the basis of assigned tasks, a number of ministries have issued a separate circular detailing the list of goods with HS codes, but there are also ministries that have not yet issued it, and at the same time, the application of regulations on CFS has not been agreed among ministries and agencies because the law has not yet specified.

At the same time, in Decision No. 439/QD-TTg dated April 19, 2022 of the Prime Minister approving the Strategy for Import and Export of Goods to 2030, one of the solutions to implement the strategy is to complete the institutions, strengthen state management in the organization of import and export activities in order to facilitate trade, combat trade fraud and aim for fair trade such as institutional reform, improvement of business investment environment, reforming administrative procedures, creating a competitive environment.

Streamlining specialized inspection procedures is one of the key objectives of the USAID Trade Facilitation Program (TFP). To support these priorities, in the framework of Work Plan (2022-2023-), the Program will support the MOIT to conduct an assessment on specialized management for products and goods under the management of other line ministries, other than the MOIT. The situational assessment conducted by the MOIT, with the support of the Program, is expected to take into account perspectives of different parties, such as line ministries, private sector stakeholders, experts and relevant MOIT’s departments. The activity aims to produce suggestions for revising/supplementing a number of legal documents on specialized management and solutions for improving the current mechanism.

Methodology: The Program will mobilize 2 local/national Specialized and management experts to provide technical assistance and support to MOIT to conduct an assessment on specialized management for products and goods under the management of other line ministries, other than the MOIT. The two national experts will focus on following ministries:

1. MOC, MONRE, MPS, MOD, MOLISA;
2. MARD, MOH, MOCST, MOT, State Bank, MET, MOST, MOF and MIC.

This SOW focuses only on item (i) above.

Local/National Specialized Expert 1. In collaboration with the Program’s Chief of Party and Legal & Regulatory Expert, the Local/National Specialized Management Expert 1) will work closely with the I Local/National Specialized Management Expert 2, Legal Department of the MOIT and as necessary, consult with other technical departments of MOIT, relevant line ministries, customs authority, and private sector stakeholders. The Local/National Specialized Management Expert 1 may also be required to work in collaboration with other members of the Program team to undertake this activity.

Tasks & Responsibilities:

The Local/National Specialized Management Expert 1) will be responsible for the following:

1. Conducting the 1^st thematic report on general regulations on imports-exports specialized management in Vietnam and comparison with Vietnam’s international commitments
• Reviewing and analyzing (i) the legal regulations on foreign trade management on principles of state management of foreign trade, principles of applying management measures according to permits and conditions (associated with the responsibilities of ministries and agencies), procedures for granting export and import permits; and (ii) assignment and management of the export and import of goods under the management competence of ministries and agencies, except for the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Law on Foreign Trade Management and Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP)
• Reviewing Vietnam's commitments on conditions and procedures for licensing import and export of goods in a number of international treaties such as: WTO, CPTPP Agreement; EVFTA Agreement; and Proposing solutions to improve the law
• Analyze, compare and evaluate the compatibility of legal regulations on content foreign trade management with international commitments;
2. Conducting the 2^nd thematic report on specialized management of several line ministries (MOC, MONRE, MPS, MOD, MOLISA)
• Reviewing and analyzing legal regulations on management of export and import of goods under permits, conditions and certificates of free sale issued by the MOC, MONRE, MPS, MOD, MOLISA;
• Analyze, compare and evaluate regulations on conditions and procedures for licensing export and import in specialized documents with the law on foreign trade management and international commitments; and
• Proposing solutions to improve the law.

3.     Conduct meetings, field surveys or consultative workshops (if necessary) with relevant line ministries, businesses and relevant stakeholders to gather information and collect feedback on practical situation of Specialized management of imported and exported goods to improve the reports;

4.     Combine the 3^rd thematic report of the Local/National Specialized Management Expert 2 into a final combining report

5.     Produce a Final Report (combining Thematic Report 1, Thematic Report 2 and Thematic Report 3 from Local/National Specialized Management Expert 2 into a complete final report) containing details of all work carried out and proposals for assessment report including recommendations for improvements.

Deliverables:

• Thematic Report 1 on general regulations on imports-exports specialized management in Vietnam and comparison with Vietnam’s international commitments;
• Thematic report 2 on specialized management of several line ministries (MOC, MONRE, MPS, MOD, MOLISA);
• Feedback from meetings, field surveys or consultative workshops (if necessary) with relevant line ministries, businesses and relevant stakeholders to gather information and collect feedback on practical situation of Specialized management of imported and exported goods to improve the reports;
• Final Report (combining Thematic Report 1, Thematic Report 2 and Thematic Report 3 from Local/National Specialized Management Expert 2 into a complete final report) containing details of all work carried out and proposals for assessment report including recommendations for improvements.

Qualifications:

• At least Bachelor degree in law, business administration, trade policy, international trade, economics, or similar field;
• Experience and track record of working or collaborating with the MOIT. Experience in working with other line ministries in Vietnam is appreciated;
• Proven knowledge and understanding of import-export procedures including Specialized management and other related technical matters;
• Experience, specifically in the management mechanism and management mode of specialized management of selected countries such as U.S., China, EU...is appreciated;
• Experience in negotiating bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements;
• Capable in word processing, spreadsheets and office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Google Applications;
• Fluency in Vietnamese and good written, oral, and presentation skills; and
• English language skills preferred.

Reporting:

The Local/National Specialized Management Expert 1) will be required to report to the Program’s Chief of Party ([email protected] [1]) and Legal & Regulatory Expert ([email protected] [2]).

How to apply:

Proposals should be submitted to [email protected] [3] no later than September 23, 2022.

1. Cover letter (no longer than 1 page)
2. CVs (see attached template [4]); 
3. Updated USAID 1420 form (see attached template [5])
4. Cost proposal (See attached template [6])”