MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE
POLICY AND STRATEGY
LE THI MY NGOC
SOLUTIONS TO ADAPT TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS EXPORTED TO THE US
MARKET WHEN VIETNAM JOINS TPP
Major: Commerce business
Code: 62.34.01.21
SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN ECONOMICS
HA NOI – 2020
THE THESIS IS COMPLETED AT VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF
INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE POLICY AND STRATEGY
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Supervisors:
1. Assos. Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Thao
Communist Party Committee of Central Agencies
2. Dr. Luu Khanh Cuong
University of Economics - Technology for Industries
The thesis will be examined by Examination Board of Vietnam Institute of
Industrial and Trade Policy and Strategy
Address: 46 Ngo Quyen - Hanoi
In the day ..... the day ...... month ...... 2020
The thesis can be found at:
1. National Library
2. Vietnam Institute of Industrial and Trade Policy and Strategy Library
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INTRODUCTION
1. Reasons of the research
In the general context of world agricultural trade, Vietnam has
gradually affirmed its position as a great power in exporting agricultural
products (ranked 15th in the world and exported to more than 180
countries and territories). The export value of key products has increased,
including: coffee, vegetables, catfish ... According to the current general
assessment, Vietnam's agricultural exports are still not commensurate with
the production potential. and market opportunities are opened through the
signing of free trade agreements, especially new generation free trade
agreements such as the CPTPP. One of the important causes of this
restriction is that Vietnam's main import markets are increasingly setting
strict technical standards for imported agricultural products.
In the coming years, promoting the export of our country's agricultural
products continues to be an important orientation in socio-economic
development in general and in agricultural and rural development in
particular. This orientation is not only derived from the potential and great
untapped advantages of agricultural production, but also supported by
export opportunities opening up from extensive integration efforts into
international economy. In order to boost the export of Vietnam's
agricultural products, one of the important issues that is posing is how to
better adapt to the technical barrier to trade of countries, especially
developed countries. Among import markets of agricultural products, the
United States is not only the leading import market of the world and
Vietnam, but also the market that applies the regulations on technical
standards at high and strictly controlled process for agricultural products.
From the above-mentioned reasons and in the context that the United
States is also one of the countries directly involved in negotiating and
developing the TPP Agreement, the PhD student chose the topic:
"Solution to adapt technical barriers in trade in agricultural products
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exported to the US market when Vietnam joins the TPP" as a doctoral
thesis of commerce business.
Although the TPP was proposed and discussed for 10 years and
officially reached the consensus of the majority of its members in 2016,
on January 23, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed an order to
withdraw. The United States leaves the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
Agreement. This raises questions about topicality, theoretical and practical
significance for the PhD thesis topic. For this question, PhD student will
explain as follows:
Firstly, the research objective of the project is the solution to adapt
technical barriers to trade for agricultural products exported to the US
market. Up to now, the US is still the leading export market for Vietnam's
agricultural products and maintains a high growth rate. Therefore, the
thesis topic still ensures the topical, theoretical and practical significance
of the thesis.
Secondly, although President Donald Trump signed an ordinance to
withdraw the United States from the TPP on July 23, 2017, during the
previous 10 years, the United States, together with 11 other member
countries, directly participated in the negotiations and built the TPP
Agreement. After that, the remaining 11 member countries renamed TPP
to CPTPP and were officially signed in March 2018. In the CPTPP, the
content of chapter 8 on technical barriers to trade which was negotiated
with the participation of the United States at TPP remains the same.
Therefore, the technical barriers to trade in the United States and in the
CPTPP, on the one hand, will have similar levels. On the other hand,
technical barriers to trade of the United States are always evaluated at the
level equal to or somewhat superior to those of the CPTPP countries. In
other words, the better solutions to US technical regulations for
agricultural trade in the coming years will also ensure that Vietnam makes
good use of trade opportunities for agricultural goods in the in the context
of CPTPP implementation. Solutions to better adapt to regulations on
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technical barriers to agricultural trade of the United States will remain
topical, theoretical and practical in the coming years as Vietnam
simultaneously increases agricultural exported to the United States and
CPTPP member countries.
Thirdly, the PhD student submitted a proposal to the training institution
- the Institute of Trade Research, now the Vietnam Institute of Industrial
and Trade Policy and Strategy - to allow the adjustment of the topic title
(removing the phrase when Vietnam joined TPP.) to better align with
changing commercial practices. However, due to the time limit allowed to
change the title of the thesis (in the first half of the training period)
according to the current Training Regulations, the training institution
cannot issue a decision to change the PhD student’s name of PhD thesis.
At the same time, after consulting with the Department of Higher
Education - Ministry of Education and Training, the training facility
allows the PhD student to continue carrying out the thesis topic with a
clear explanation of current and significant issues, theoretical and
practical of the thesis topic.
2. Aims of the research
The study aims to propose solutions to adapt US technical barriers to
trade in imported agricultural products, to boost Vietnam's exports of
agricultural products to the US market.
3. Object and scope of the research
3.1 Object of the research
The thesis study technical barriers to trade and the ability to adapt US
technical barriers to trade in agricultural products from the perspective of
an exporting enterprise's approach.
3.2 Scope of the research
- As for the content:
The thesis focuses on researching technical barriers to trade for three
major agricultural commodity groups exported to the US market: (1)
Agricultural products; (2) Tropical fruits; (3) Seafood. These are the 3