Domestic producers should improve the quality of their products anddesign at reasonable prices to meet customers' demands because this isconsidered to be a solution to preventing smuggled and counterfeit goodsand trade fraud.
The opinion was voiced bydelegates at a workshop on market surveillance against smuggling,counterfeiting and commercial frauds among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar andVietnam held in Hanoi on November 6.
Truong QuangHoai Nam, director of the Market Watch Department, said the violationshave become more sophisticated and complex by applying moderntechnologies and establishing trans-border smuggling networks relatingto several people and businesses.
In the first eightmonths of the year, the department tackled more than 57,800 violationsincluding over 8,300 in trading and transporting of illegal and smuggledgoods; 9,000 cases of fake and low-quality goods and around 40,000instances of trade fraud, contributing 220 billion VND (10.4 millionUSD) to the State budget.
Violators have takenadvantage of difficulties from the economic slowdown to promote fakegoods trading and provide unhygienic foods to the market, Nam said.
He added that most of the border and coastal provinces have to dealwith smuggling and violations of intellectual property rights.
In the trend of international integration, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos andMyanmar face challenges in preventing counterfeit goods and tradefraud.
Nam added that this required marketmanagement forces in these countries, especially those having commonborders, to enhance information and professional exchanges and resolveviolations.
Sharing this idea, Nguyen Thang Loi,head of the Market Watch Office in northern Lang Son Province, said onereason for the boom in fake goods and commercial fraud is that localproducers have not paid attention to building trademarks, geographicalindication systems and registration for intellectual property rights.
In addition, producers have not well co-operated withauthorised agencies in preventing fake goods, even for their ownproducts, Loi said.
He said Vietnamese people areinterested in brand name products, but at low prices, thus creatingconditions for counterfeit goods to penetrate the market.
"The biggest obstacle for market surveillance is the lack of awarenesson how to combat counterfeiting, substandard goods and commercialfraud, which creates a lack of practices for enforcement agencies tofollow, even within the same agency," he added.
Phitleudeth Vongvath, a representative from the Lao Ministry of Industryand Commerce, mentioned challenges to market management in the countryincluding limited human resources, technology, infrastructure,transparency and illegal transport across borders.
He agreed that ensuring transparency, enhancing technology, legal systemand education, as well as co-operation among countries would helpprevent violations.
Claudio Dordi, chief advisor ofthe European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP)told Viet Nam News that fake goods has been one of the biggest concernsof foreign investors in Vietnam.
He said Vietnamshould maintain co-operation with not only Laos, Cambodia and Myanmarbut other countries to prevent counterfeit goods and trade fraud.
Vietnam is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the EU. Thecountries in the region have paid much attention to the intellectualproperty issue in Vietnam, he added.
The workshop,co-organised by the Market Surveillance Agency and the Asia-PacificMarket Department with the support of EU-MUTRAP, aims to improve thecapacity of market surveillance forces, simultaneously supporting thesub-regional integration process, and strengthening co-operation betweenthe countries in the development and management of the market towardsthe goal of establishing the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.-VNA
The opinion was voiced bydelegates at a workshop on market surveillance against smuggling,counterfeiting and commercial frauds among Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar andVietnam held in Hanoi on November 6.
Truong QuangHoai Nam, director of the Market Watch Department, said the violationshave become more sophisticated and complex by applying moderntechnologies and establishing trans-border smuggling networks relatingto several people and businesses.
In the first eightmonths of the year, the department tackled more than 57,800 violationsincluding over 8,300 in trading and transporting of illegal and smuggledgoods; 9,000 cases of fake and low-quality goods and around 40,000instances of trade fraud, contributing 220 billion VND (10.4 millionUSD) to the State budget.
Violators have takenadvantage of difficulties from the economic slowdown to promote fakegoods trading and provide unhygienic foods to the market, Nam said.
He added that most of the border and coastal provinces have to dealwith smuggling and violations of intellectual property rights.
In the trend of international integration, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos andMyanmar face challenges in preventing counterfeit goods and tradefraud.
Nam added that this required marketmanagement forces in these countries, especially those having commonborders, to enhance information and professional exchanges and resolveviolations.
Sharing this idea, Nguyen Thang Loi,head of the Market Watch Office in northern Lang Son Province, said onereason for the boom in fake goods and commercial fraud is that localproducers have not paid attention to building trademarks, geographicalindication systems and registration for intellectual property rights.
In addition, producers have not well co-operated withauthorised agencies in preventing fake goods, even for their ownproducts, Loi said.
He said Vietnamese people areinterested in brand name products, but at low prices, thus creatingconditions for counterfeit goods to penetrate the market.
"The biggest obstacle for market surveillance is the lack of awarenesson how to combat counterfeiting, substandard goods and commercialfraud, which creates a lack of practices for enforcement agencies tofollow, even within the same agency," he added.
Phitleudeth Vongvath, a representative from the Lao Ministry of Industryand Commerce, mentioned challenges to market management in the countryincluding limited human resources, technology, infrastructure,transparency and illegal transport across borders.
He agreed that ensuring transparency, enhancing technology, legal systemand education, as well as co-operation among countries would helpprevent violations.
Claudio Dordi, chief advisor ofthe European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP)told Viet Nam News that fake goods has been one of the biggest concernsof foreign investors in Vietnam.
He said Vietnamshould maintain co-operation with not only Laos, Cambodia and Myanmarbut other countries to prevent counterfeit goods and trade fraud.
Vietnam is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the EU. Thecountries in the region have paid much attention to the intellectualproperty issue in Vietnam, he added.
The workshop,co-organised by the Market Surveillance Agency and the Asia-PacificMarket Department with the support of EU-MUTRAP, aims to improve thecapacity of market surveillance forces, simultaneously supporting thesub-regional integration process, and strengthening co-operation betweenthe countries in the development and management of the market towardsthe goal of establishing the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.-VNA
