On June 3, 2025, the National Assembly Standing Committee convened its 46th session to deliberate on the draft laws amending and supplementing key articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations and the Law on Product and Goods Quality. This session marked a significant step toward refining Vietnam’s regulatory framework to better protect consumers, streamline business processes, and enhance the overall quality management of products and goods across the country.
Chairman of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology and Environment Committee, Lê Quang Huy, presented detailed reports on the draft laws, emphasizing the importance of conformity assessment as a vital tool for ensuring product safety, protecting consumers, and elevating the reputation of Vietnamese businesses. He highlighted that the draft law expands the use of conformity assessment results to avoid duplication of efforts. Currently, businesses often face the burden of undergoing two separate conformity procedures: one under the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations and another under specialized sectoral laws. The amendment proposes exempting products that fully comply with specialized quality management requirements from undergoing a second conformity declaration, thereby reducing administrative procedures and costs.
To further ease the compliance process, the draft law introduces a simplified registration system for conformity declarations. Instead of submitting multiple documents, organizations and individuals will only need to notify their conformity declarations through the national database on standards, measurement, and quality. This digitalization effort aims to reduce paperwork and accelerate the approval process, reflecting a broader governmental push to modernize administrative procedures.
Nguyễn Thanh Hải, Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Committee on Deputy Affairs, strongly advocated for retaining the conformity assessment requirement, rejecting calls for its abolition. She underscored its critical role in safeguarding product quality and safety, especially for goods impacting health and the environment. "The regulation on conformity assessment has many benefits, such as ensuring product quality, safety, protecting consumers, creating a level playing field, and preventing commercial fraud," she said. Citing recent scandals involving counterfeit milk, rice, and medicine, Nguyễn Thanh Hải stressed that abolishing conformity declarations would undermine consumer protection and public health.
However, she acknowledged existing challenges, including overlapping management responsibilities among ministries, lack of transparency, and insufficient post-declaration inspections. These issues have caused undue complications for businesses and created loopholes for malpractice. To address these, the National Assembly Standing Committee proposed adding provisions that assign state management agencies clear responsibilities for conducting periodic and surprise inspections of declared standards. These agencies would also have the authority to demand corrections, recall products, or enforce penalties for violations.
Another major focus of the session was the classification and management of product risk levels. The draft law introduces a three-tier risk classification system for products and goods: low, medium, and high risk. This classification relies on criteria such as the potential for harm or safety hazards, detectability of risk during circulation or use, prevalence and usage characteristics, and the severity of damage if risks materialize.
Products classified as high risk will be subject to mandatory traceability requirements, with relevant ministries tasked with defining these products and establishing phased implementation plans. This approach ensures that traceability measures are feasible and tailored to the unique characteristics of each industry. Meanwhile, products with medium or low risk levels are exempt from mandatory traceability, balancing regulatory rigor with practicality.
The draft law also introduces provisions for conducting quality surveys of products and goods. These surveys aim to detect early signs of violations, safety risks, or non-conformity in the marketplace. The data collected will support timely warnings, policy adjustments, and more effective supervision, enabling targeted inspections and better resource allocation. The specific frequency and scope of these surveys will be determined by Government regulations.
Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Thanh emphasized the need for clarity and simplicity in the risk classification and management principles. She said, "We have shifted to risk-based management, and if the regulations are unclear or ambiguous, it becomes even more dangerous." Nguyễn Thị Thanh also called for a comprehensive review of state management responsibilities to ensure that each ministry or agency is fully accountable for licensing production, import, and quality control within its sector. She criticized the current vague wording in Article 6a, Clause 2, Point c, which states that various ministries and government agencies share responsibility, arguing that this leads to fragmented accountability and potential regulatory gaps. Instead, she advocated for a “one task, one agency” principle, where a single agency holds end-to-end responsibility for its domain.
Hoàng Thanh Tùng, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Law and Justice Committee, recommended further scrutiny of the draft law to guarantee policy coherence, particularly regarding conformity assessment. He urged clear differentiation between cases requiring formal declaration, self-declaration, or exemption to eliminate confusion and ensure consistent application.
Lê Quang Mạnh, Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic and Financial Committee, proposed concretizing Party Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW by allowing businesses and private entities to utilize state-owned laboratories, testing facilities, design support centers, and research equipment. This would facilitate product development and innovation, leveraging existing public infrastructure to support private sector growth.
National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn, reflecting on recent public concerns, noted the persistent prevalence of counterfeit, fake, and poor-quality goods despite existing laws and multi-level steering committees. He remarked, "When fake, counterfeit, and substandard goods occur, no agency takes clear responsibility. This law must clearly define the responsibilities of the National Assembly, Government, and ministries to effectively address these issues." He stressed the importance of enhancing transparency, feasibility, and encouraging active business participation in developing and implementing standards and technical regulations. Furthermore, he urged the Government to expedite the completion of related decrees so the law can take effect promptly after approval.
Vice Chairman Lê Minh Hoan concluded the session by calling for continued collaboration among relevant agencies to incorporate feedback and finalize the draft laws. He underscored the necessity of fully institutionalizing Party guidelines, ensuring legal consistency across the system, and aligning with international treaties Vietnam is party to. He emphasized that the laws must be free from contradictions with other legislation, including the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, to avoid implementation challenges.
Overall, the session reflected a comprehensive effort by Vietnam’s National Assembly to modernize and clarify the legal framework governing product standards and quality management. By focusing on risk-based classification, digitalization of conformity procedures, clear accountability, and enhanced market supervision, these reforms aim to protect consumers, support businesses, and uphold Vietnam’s commitments to international trade and safety standards.
