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The General Department of Customs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Korean Customs signed a Joint Statement on connecting and exchanging electronic Certificates of Origin on the occasion of the official visit of the President of Korea to Viet Nam

Contributing to this remarkable result, we must mention the role of the two Customs Agencies with their specific duties as law enforcement agencies. On the one hand, we must effectively control the flow of goods across borders , ensuring trade compliance and promptly preventing customs violationas. On the other hand, we must also legitimate trade for participants in the international supply chain.

Within the framework of the Sub-Committee on Customs and Origin of the Viet Nam-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement an electronic origin data exchange system (EODES) at the end of October 2022 in a alternate manner. 

Implementing the commitments in the Memorandum of Understanding, the Parties have actively carried out preparations for pilot connection in April 2023 and official connection in July 2023.

On the occasion of the official visit of the President Korea to Viet Nam from June 22-24, 2023, Deputy Director General of Viet Nam Customs, Nguyen Van Tho, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan and High Commissioner of Korea Customs Service, Yoon Tea Sik signed a Joint Declaration on deploying EODES system connection from July 1, 2023.

In addition, the Commissioner of Korea Customs Service also had a meeting at GDVC on June 23, 2023. At the meeting, the two Administrations agreed on a number of cooperation areas in the coming time, specifically including:

Cooperation in sharing information and combating drug smuggling: Based on the Joint Declaration on drug control that Viet Nam Customs signed with Korea Customs Service along with Asia-Pacific countries on the occasion of the Week Korean Customs In April 2023, the two sides will coordinate to implement the contents of the Joint Declaration. In addition, the two sides will continue to support and participate in drug control campaigns initiated by Korea Customs Service. Accordingly, the two sides will strengthen coordination and exchange of professional information on drug prevention between the two Customs Administration to promptly prevent and effectively fight against illegal drug transportation activities relating to two countries Viet Nam and Korea.

Cooperation in AEO: The Protocol amending the Agreement on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in the Customs matter signed in December 2022 is an important basis for the signing of the Mutual Recognition Agreement about AEO. With the efforts of the two Customs Administrations, the negotiation of a Mutual Recognition Agreement on AEO will soon be implemented in the near future.

Enhance cooperation to cope with challenges in customs clearance activities: The two sides will continue to cooperate and share experiences on modern customs management measures such as digital customs and smart customs as well as customs management at seaports and airports to help implement the Customs Strategy of Vietnam Customs. In addition, the two sides will coordinate closely to ensure that the risk of supply chain disruption is limited and trade flows are maintained.

At the meeting, the two sides held a ceremony to announce the implementation of the electronic origin data exchange system. When the system is officially deployed, it will contribute to reforming administrative procedures, reducing the burden on importers of each country when having to wait for the original C/O to be sent from the exporting country and submitted to the Customs Administration of the importing country to enjoy FTA tariff preferences.

Viet Nam and Korea are currently "comprehensive strategic partners" of each other in many fields, in which economic, trade and investment cooperation is both the pillar and the main driving force promoting bilateral cooperation relations. One of the efforts to facilitate trade to reduce time and costs for import-export businesses is to reform administrative procedures. Accordingly, the EODES is said to be a remarkable reform step and the goods clearance process is shortened through electronic C/O data.

With the efforts of both sides, the official connection from July 1, 2023 is one of the important factors for the two countries' trade to reach the target of 100 billion USD in 2023 and 150 billion USD in 2030.