Since the appearance of the COVID-19 epidemic, most countries have tended to tighten import regulations and control to prevent the epidemic from entering the country through imported goods, especially through imported agricultural and aquatic products. This “trend” causes many difficulties for exports, businesses and Vietnamese farmers, who are already struggling in the context of the epidemic.

There are moments when our agricultural exports are congested at border gates with China (March 2020), our seafood cannot be exported to Laos and Cambodia because these countries have issued measures to suspend seafood imports (Laos December 2020, Cambodia January 2021).

Facing these difficulties, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has coordinated with relevant ministries and sectors to promote China, Laos and Cambodia to agree to deploy the model of epidemic prevention clearance at land border gates from the end of the first quarter of 2020. As a result, the movement of goods through land border gates on the northern, western and southwestern border will be ensured smoothly and without interruption for most of 2020. Thanks to the impact. of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Cambodia and Laos respectively canceled measures to suspend seafood imports from Vietnam (Cambodia in February 2021, Laos in April 2021). Despite being affected by the epidemic, bilateral trade between Vietnam and each of Laos, Cambodia and China will still grow strongly in 2020 and the first 3 months of 2021.

However, the COVID-19 epidemic is returning to the region. In early May 2021, Vietnam began to see many new COVID-19 infections in the community. Cambodia and Laos continue to face the 3rd wave of epidemics, starting from March and April 2021, which has not yet ended. In that context, all three countries China, Laos, and Cambodia are likely to continue to tighten even more epidemic prevention measures at land border gates, affecting the flow of import and export goods through the country border. Anticipating the above situation, the Minister of Industry and Trade actively sent a letter to the Minister of Industry and Trade of Laos, the Minister of Commerce of Cambodia, and the Director of the General Department of Customs of China, requesting close coordination in implementing the customs clearance model at land border gates in the direction of both preventing the epidemic but still creating conditions for smooth and uninterrupted movement of goods. In particular, the Minister of Industry and Trade also proposed the General Department of Customs of China to exempt from inspection and testing of Sars-Cov-2 virus on Vietnamese agricultural products, seafood and frozen food exported to China.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade continues to closely coordinate with partner ministries and border localities to closely monitor the epidemic prevention and control situation, the clearance of import and export goods through land border gates with Laos, Cambodia and China in order to promptly detect difficulties and problems and handle them for the safety of the people and for the benefit of farmers, consumers and exporters.