Workers at a garment factory (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Although the future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)agreement is still in question, opportunities for Vietnam are considerable,many experts, officials and entrepreneurs said at a consultation workshop inHanoi on November 25.
Vietnamhas reviewed legal regulations in various fields recently to prepare for TPP.Though it is just an initial step, it is very important to perfecting the legalsystem in the country, said Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the WTO Centreunder the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
It isnecessary to continue reviewing local regulations in relation withinternational commitments, such as those in TPP or the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA), so as to ensure benefits for the country.
Thereview is to fine-tune legal regulations in line with global trends amid stronginternational economic integration while benefiting Vietnamese businesses,thereby improving Vietnam’s competitiveness and standing in the region and theworld, she added.
Participantsin the event said big trade partners, such as those in TPP or the EU, areinterested in and have strict requirements in terms of intellectual property(IP). That fact shows if Vietnam makes appropriate adjustments in this field,it is likely to increase investment attraction.
Theadaptation of IP protection standards to the committed standards in TPP orEVFTA will pose major challenges to Vietnam. Hence, the compatibility review isneeded to seek solutions to simultaneously attract investment, implementcommitments and support local companies, Trang noted.
Reviewresults show that most of Vietnam’s legal regulations have been completelycompatible with the TPP and EVFTA commitments such as those on brandprotection, patent, secret test data, pharmaceuticals, agricultural andpharmaceutical chemistry.
Someregulations have been just partly compatible such as the protection ofcopyright and relevant rights. Several others remain incompatible with TPP andEVFTA commitments such as those on secret data, inventions in pharmaceuticals,biological products, agricultural and pharmaceutical chemical products,copyright information, and Internet services providers.
Pham DuyKhuong, Director of the SB law firm, said it’s now a good time for Vietnam toreview its IP-related regulations, adding that many articles on IP in TPP aresuitable for the country.
He calledfor more attention to the enforcement of legal regulations already compatiblewith TPP and EVFTA commitments. It is needed to revise the IP regulations thatare partly compatible or incompatible.
Meanwhile,Nguyen Thi Thu, a representative from the Invest Consult company, said thoughTPP does not request the member countries align their laws with the deal,Vietnam should still consider law amendments to create a healthy competitionenvironment in order to foster economic growth.-VNA
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