Invisible barriers to trade - Viet Nam: Business perspectives

Nearly half of Vietnamese exporters face regulatory or procedural trade barriers, according to an International Trade Centre survey of 1800 businesses. Lack of trade information, complexities with certification and compliance, administrative delays in some regions, and complex visa requirements and lack of support for women entrepreneurs were among the top challenges. Abroad, Asia and Europe have the most challenging non-tariff measures.

Public-private dialogues following the survey led to an action plan that emphasized business environment reforms, e-government to reduce delays and improve transparency, more international regulatory cooperation, and better trade facilitation measures. The report includes a matrix of concrete actions for the trade ecosystem as well as specific sectors.