VietNamNet Bridge - Experts have warned that Chinese have labelled their products as Vietnamese goods to cheat on the origin when exporting products to third countries.


Nguyen Huy Quy, a renowned trade expert, former head of the Research Institute for Chinese Studies, noted that nearly all Vietnamese goods, from farm produce to consumer goods, have been counterfeited. 

Imports from China go across border gates to enter the Vietnamese market, where they are sold as Vietnamese goods.

According to Quy, there are two reasons behind the presence of Chinese goods with Vietnamese labels in the Vietnamese market.

First, Vietnamese importers, who run after profit, import Chinese goods and sell them as Vietnamese goods because Vietnamese goods can go for better prices. Vietnamese consumers say ‘no’ to Chinese goods for fear of low quality and toxicity, while they will pay more to buy Vietnamese products.

In December 2015, the Vietnamese Goods Trade Fair was held in Da Nang City. Merchants were told to bring Vietnamese goods to the trade fair only. However, inspectors found that many products displayed there were from China.

In 2013, the Ha Tinh provincial Market Control Sub-department discovered a consignment of clothes made in China but labeled as Vietnamese goods at the Ha Tinh Trade Fair.

Chinese goods were present at the ‘Week of Vietnamese goods’, a trade fair held at the Giang Vo Exhibition and Trade Fair Center in October 2015, an activity organized to respond to the ‘buy Vietnamese’ movement.

Imports from China go across border gates to enter the Vietnamese market, where they are sold as Vietnamese goods.

Second, China wants to exploit the Vietnamese market – boosting sales to Vietnam and exporting products to third countries through Vietnam, which is a member of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP). Therefore, it can enjoy certain advantages.

“This is just like the story about the Trojan Horse. China wants to get benefits from TPP,” he explained.

The sale of Chinese goods as Vietnamese, according to Quy, will harm Vietnamese production, because products would fall into disrepute in the home and foreign markets.

Meanwhile, an analyst said Chinese businessmen might get support from the government to boost low-quality products.

He noted that most of the counterfeited consumer goods are products with low technology and products with no specific standards. Meanwhile, Chinese cannot counterfeit high quality branded products.

When asked about measures to stop Chinese low-quality products and trade fraud, Quy said it was necessary to prevent products from going through examination stations at the border gates.

The analyst, while agreeing that it is necessary to tighten control over imports across the border gates, noted that local authorities in border areas tend to loosen control to pave the way for local people to conduct trade. 

Dat Viet