VietnameseDecision No. 147/2008/QD-TTg dated November 17, 2008 of the Prime Minister approving the national action plan on acceleration of the implementation of commitments under the Agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in performing the WTO member obligations
ATTRIBUTE
Decision No. 147/2008/QD-TTg dated November 17, 2008 of the Prime Minister approving the national action plan on acceleration of the implementation of commitments under the Agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in performing the WTO member obligations
| Issuing body: | Prime Minister | Effective date: | Known Please log in to a subscriber account to use this function. Don’t have an account? Register here |
| Official number: | 147/2008/QD-TTg | Signer: | Nguyen Tan Dung |
| Type: | Decision | Expiry date: | Updating |
| Issuing date: | 17/11/2008 | Effect status: | Known Please log in to a subscriber account to use this function. Don’t have an account? Register here |
| Fields: | Agriculture - Forestry , Medical - Health |
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Effect status: Known
THE PRIME MINISTER | SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence- Freedom- Happiness |
No. 147/2008/QD-TTg | Hanoi, November 17, 2008 |
DECISION
APPROVING THE NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON ACCELERATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMITMENTS UNDER THE AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES IN PERFORMING THE WTO MEMBER OBLIGATIONS
THE PRIME MINISTER
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001Law on Organization of the Government;
At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;
DECIDES:
Article 1.
- To approve the National the National Action Plan on acceleration of the implementation of commitments under the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) in performing the obligations of a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) with the following contents:
I. OBJECTIVES
To create a substantial progress in raising the capacity of state management agencies for the following objectives:
l. Comprehensively implementing the SPS Agreement according to the commitments made by Vietnam upon its accession to the WTO;
2. Minimizing negative effects while tapping to the utmost the advantages of Vietnams WTO membership regarding its agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food processing industry;
3. Assuring food hygiene and safety for domestic and foreign consumers though the supply of agricultural products and foods which are of good quality and free of toxic chemicals and harmful micro-organisms;
4. Further promoting the commercialization of agricultural, forest and aquatic products and processed foods, improving the competitiveness and marketability of Vietnamese products on international market;
5. Protecting domestic agricultural production, forestry and fisheries from pests and diseases borne by imported products, and protecting the ecological environment and the diversity of fauna and flora resources in Vietnam.
II. CONTENTS AND SOLUTIONS
1. Contents of implementation of the commitments in the WTO/SPS Agreement.
a/ Enhancement of institutions:
- Perfecting the system of legal documents to conform to international regulations and practice: revising current guiding documents and elaborating and promulgating new ones;
- Elaborating technical regulations on good cultivation, animal husbandry and aquaculture practices according to regional and international standards, assuring safety of the food chain;
- Elaborating technical regulations on fertilizers, pesticides and animal feed (including aquatic animal feed) as per international standards and recommendations, assuring hygiene and safety in agricultural production and fisheries;
- Elaborating legal documents and technical regulations on bio-safety in food production, processing and preservation, cultivation and animal husbandry;
- Promulgating regulations on coordination between different authorities and branches in investigation, notification and coordinated prevention and eradication of animal and plant diseases on the principle of proactive surveillance;
- Mobilizing all social strata to take part in the work of animal health and food hygiene and safety surveillance;
- Perfecting the organization of and regulations on control, inspection and certification of food safety for agricultural, forest and aquatic products, fresh and processed foods.
b/ Building of the capacity of SPS personnel
- Working out plans on development of human resources with scientific knowledge and skills meeting requirements of international integration in the control, inspection and surveillance of food hygiene and safety and sanitary and phytosanitary protection;
- Building the capacity of personnel of the National SPS Enquiry Office and technical assistance points based in ministries and branches in order to meet requirements of transparency of SPS information;
- Training full-time personnel to be professionally qualified and have a good command of foreign languages to take charge of food hygiene and safety, animal health or plant protection and possess skills of solving trade-related SPS problems;
- Building the capacity of personnel engaged in the assessment of risks of food hygiene and safety and animal or plant diseases, and in the diagnosis, inspection and surveillance of chemical and antibiotic residues and diseases.
c/ Intensification of information and propaganda activities
- Disseminating the SPS Agreement and the importance of compliance with the Agreement's provisions in trade among all branches, levels and concerned organizations, especially business associations, enterprises and production units;
- Disseminating information to raise the awareness of agricultural product and food processing units and enterprises about bad effects caused by violations of SPS regulations on consumer health and reputation of products in the domestic and export markets;
- Building a database on SPS protection of Vietnam and its trade partners; adding and updating information on the SPS Portal of Vietnam; printing use manuals;
- Disseminating among, and training in raising the capacity of, technicians and farmers typical models of application of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), Good Animal Husbandry Practice (GAHP) and Good Faming Practices (GFPs), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), skills of identifying diseases and principal measures for disease prevention and control in the domain of animal health, aquatic products and plant protection (training, building of demonstration models, editing and printing of technical documents, setting up of an online information system and, recording on CDs a database on methods of investigation, identification and basic biological and ecological characteristics of diseases and methods of prevention and control);
- Popularizing knowledge about technologies for post-harvest processing and preservation of agricultural, forest and aquatic products to ensure food safety among food producers, processors and traders;
- Establishing, applying and exploiting a network of information, propaganda and community education about food hygiene and safety and prevention and control of animal and plant diseases.
d/ Expansion of markets for agricultural, forest and aquatic products
- Surveying markets and studying technical regulations of foreign countries in order to raise the processing rate and the value of agricultural, forest and aquatic products, fresh food products or food products processed for export;
- Formulating a trade promotion assistance program compliant with WTO regulations (the Agreement on Agriculture-AoA);
- Improving enterprises' awareness about the implementation of commitments in the SPS Agreement, the observance of SPS regulations of Vietnam's foreign trade partners and methods of settlement SPS-related trade issues;
- Building integrated supply chain models for a number of export agricultural products according to internationally accredited technical processes (GLOBAL GAP, trade fairness and internationally accredited private certification standards).
2. Solutions for fulfilling the obligations under the WTO/SPS Agreement
a/ Ensuring scientificity
- Establishing systems to control risks of food contamination and food-borne diseases. Anticipating and forecasting the possibility of contamination of major food products for each year. Consolidating the system of information, propaganda and reporting on food poisonings and food-borne diseases;
- Establishing a national system for quick warning of food hygiene and safety connected to the food hygiene and safety quick warning systems of the Association of Southeast Asian National (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU);
- Establishing a network and organizing a national program for anticipation and forecast of animal and plant diseases and pests and appropriate prevention and control measures to minimize production damage, which are based on ecological and geographical conditions and prioritize some key plants and animals;
- Formulating programs to prevent the entry of Infectious Hypodermal and Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus (IHHNV), Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV) and Necrotizing Hepatopancreatitis Bacterium (NHPB) on shrimps, and completely eradicate viruses causing white spot syndrome and yellow head disease on shrimps and red spot syndrome on catfishes;
- Conducting capacity building training for personnel engaged in the diagnosis, inspection and control of food hygiene and safety, analysis and diagnosis of animal and plant diseases; raising the capacity of equipment and personnel of regional animal and plant quarantine stations, and at seaports and border gates;
- Studying approaches to post-harvest processing of vegetables and fruits for export in conformity with the SPS Agreement.
b/ Establishing and harmonizing Vietnam's food hygiene and safety and sanitary and phytosanitary standards with those of the CODEX Alimentarius (CODEX), the International Office of Epizootics (OIE) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
- Revising existing food standards and promulgating new ones conformable to the standards, instructions and recommendations of the CODEX. Identifying resources for active participation in activities of the CODEX Alimentarius Commission;
- Revising existing standards and technical regulations on sanitary measures (for terrestrial, amphibious and aquatic animals) and promulgating new ones conformable to CODEX and OIE standards, instructions and recommendations and the OIE. Identifying resources for active participation in activities of the CODEX Alimentarius Commission;
- Revising existing standards and technical regulations on phytosanitary measures and elaborating and promulgating new ones conformable to IPPC standards, instructions and recommendations; identifying resources for active participation in IPPC activities.
- Elaborating a scheme on "single standard" for products for export or domestic consumption.
c/ Ensuring equivalence
- Assessing the actual conditions of, upgrading and building key branch testing laboratories under ISO/IEC 17025 standard. Ministries shall propose projects on building or upgrading specialized testing laboratories to the Prime Minister for approval;
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