The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) on Wednesday celebrated their joint success creating a more attractive trade and investment environment in Vietnam. 

Addressing the event, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Aler Grubbs said that USAID is a long-time partner of Vietnam in improving the country’s trade and the investment environment.

“The extraordinary results of USAID’s Trade Facilitation Program are a prime example of what our strong partnership can achieve," she said. "We look forward to continuing our joint efforts to unlock greater economic growth.”

Speaking at the event, GDVC Deputy Director General Nguyen Van Tho said that the USAID Trade Facilitation Program’s support could not have been better timed, particularly in relation to Vietnam’s implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

“The Program has supported Vietnam to carry out effective regulatory and administrative reforms through a range of activities, including technical assistance for the application of risk management in customs, capacity building, and the development of effective public-private partnerships,” he said.

Through its USD21.7 million Trade Facilitation Program, which began in 2018, USAID has partnered with GDVC to improve the country’s business climate. USAID and GDVC increased the business community’s voice in the policy-making process, simplified customs procedures, and created action plans to ease port congestion, such as at Cat Lai, the country’s busiest container port, which had been operating at its full capacity prior to COVID-19. 

USAID and GDVC worked together to streamline specialized inspections—a procedure that ensures import-export goods meet required safety and quality standards. Previously, specialized inspections in Vietnam involved multiple ministries, resulting in lengthy border clearance times. According to the GDVC, between 2019 and 2020, the activity has been instrumental in cutting in half the average border clearance time for imports (from 104 hours to 55 hours); reducing by 2.5 times the average border clearance time for exports (from 96 hours to 38 hours); and reducing the costs to traders of completing cross-border procedures by 45% for imports (from USD569 to USD313) and by 20% for exports (from USD420 to USD338).