Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam serves as chair of the sessionson food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary measures during this time’snegotiations on the upgrade of the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), expectedto further facilitate Vietnam and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s exports to China.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Le Thanh Hoa, Director ofthe Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point(SPS Vietnam), said the participation in the negotiations on SPS measures infree trade agreements (FTAs) has helped promote Vietnam’s stature, especiallywithin the frameworks of ASEAN’s deals with such large trading partners asChina, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Australia/New Zealand.

Chairingthe sessions on SPS measures during the ACFTA upgrade negotiations, Vietnamwill help connect ASEAN countries with not only the General Administration ofCustoms China but also related agencies in terms of SPS measures, food safety,and trade with the neighbouring market. This will further facilitate Vietnamand other ASEAN countries’ exports to China in the time ahead, he noted.

With the upgrade, the contents on SPS measures thatVietnam previously agreed on with ASEAN and China will also be lifted to be on parwith those in the FTAs with the countries, he went on.

Hoa said ASEAN and China set up working groups onfood safety, sanitary measures, and phytosanitary measures. The groups havebeen playing a highly active role in dealing with information and certificateson food safety and SPS measures for goods exported to China, thereby creatingfavourable conditions for trade between ASEAN, including Vietnam, and China.

During this time’s negotiations, relevant parties willdiscuss to reach consensus on technical issues to further facilitate trade,the official said, adding that when there are any changes related to SPS measures,they will have to release clear notifications, build a coordination mechanismfor handling technical issues, and jointly deal with technical obstacles so asto foster trade more strongly.

Via the SPS mechanism, China has pledged support for ASEANcountries and helped such countries as Laos and Cambodia to enhance capacity.Vietnam has also received China’s assistance in technical training to improveits staff’s skills in terms of animal and plant disease detection and food safety.

Hoasaid that 17 years since it became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),Vietnam has made comprehensive changes. Legal regulations on food safety andSPS measures, managerial agencies, and monitoring processes have accessed advancedstandards. Businesses have also applied standards like HACCP and ISO as well as good production practices to meet markets’requirements.

SPSVietnam will continue coordination with specialised units to provide sufficient andtimely information for businesses, but companies themselves also have to complywith standards to minimise risks during cross-border checks, reduce customsclearance time, and lower expenses, he recommended.

Thegood compliance with SPS measures has been promoting the export ofagricultural, aquatic, and food products and also affirming the quality andsafety of Vietnamese products in the global market, according to the official./.