Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Local businesses need to know clearly about the CE and FDAstandards for exporting goods to the EU and US markets, according toexperts at a seminar on CE and FDA standards held in Hanoi on May 26.

They shouldavoid the situation that they have sent finished goods to the EU and USmarkets to get CE and FDA certificates for exporting to those markets, theexperts said. If their products could not receive CE and FDA certificates,they would have wasted resources, including capital.

"Vietnamesebusinesses can take advantage of opportunities to boost exports to European andAmerican markets, if they actively meet the requirements of thesemarkets," Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industryand Trade (MoIT)’s Import and Export Department, said at the seminarorganised by the department and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association(Vitas).

At theseminar, the experts answered local enterprises’ questions relating to the CEand FDA standards and suggested solutions on implementing those standards. TheCE certificate requests export products to meet the requirements for safety,health and environmental protection while the US Food andDrug Administration (FDA) regulations include requirements for the safetyof products exported to the US.

This is oneof many events supporting domestic enterprises organised by the MoIT to gettechnical standard certificates for export goods, especially those relating toCOVID-19 pandemic prevention such as face masks.

Hai said atpresent, many local businesses are facing difficulties in certifying to reachstandards and quality, especially processes on completing procedures for CE andFDA certifications.

Thebusinesses often lack information about those certifications so they mustget the certifications via brokers. That would risk the certificates madeby the brokers are not acceptable in the EU and US markets. Meanwhile, inthe future, local enterprises must have CE and FDA certificates for theirproducts to be exported to the EU and US markets.

Duong PhongHien, chief representative of EUROFINS Group in Hanoi, said Vietnam shouldcomplete the system of standards and regulations to control and improve qualityof goods, especially face masks and protective gear. That would create goodconditions to promote competitiveness of Vietnamese textile and apparelproducts on the global market.

To produceproducts reaching CE and FDA standards, Vietnamese enterprises must have inputmaterials meeting those standards, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, chief representative ofBritish Standard Institute (BSI) Vietnam Co, Ltd in Hanoi said.

The EU andUS markets have often had high technical requirements and high product quality,said Tam. The biggest difficulty of Vietnamese enterprises is that when sendingtheir products to these two markets for getting the certifications, there areoften many uncertified products.

The Vietnam- European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has been signed and is waitingfor approval of Vietnam’s National Assembly. To take advantage of the FTA, thelocal businesses must know clearly about the EU market quality standards, includingCE marking standards./.