WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
30 September 2009 
 (09-4576) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS, REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES 
UNDER ARTICLE 12.6 OF THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS 
 
VIETNAM 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 28 August 2009,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Vietnam.    
_______________ 
 
  According to the Article 12.6 of the Agreemen t on Safe Guard, the Permanent Mission of the 
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to the United Nati ons Office, the World Trade Organization and Other 
International Organizations at Geneva hereby no tifies to the Committee on Safeguards as follows:   
 
1. By the date of WTO's accession, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (Viet Nam) had notified 
a number of legal documents on safeguard including Ordinance No. 42/2002/PL-UBTVQH10 
dated May 25, 2002 on Safeguards in the Import of  Foreign Goods into Viet Nam and Decree 
No. 150/2003/ND-CP dated December 8, 2003 de tailing the implementation of the Ordinance 
on Safeguards in the Import of Foreign Goods into  Viet Nam (please see details in Annex 1 of 
the Report of the Working Party on the Vi et Nam's accession to the WTO, document 
WT/ACC/VNM/48).   
 
2. For the sake of transparency, we would like to re-notify these legal documents to the 
Committee on Safeguard and Centre Registration of Notification (CRN).   
 
3. Viet Nam wants to remind the Committee that these legal documents have not been changed 
or amended until now.   
  Attached to this Notification are the Eng lish versions of the Ordinance No. 42/2002/PL-
UBTVQH10 and Decree No. 150/2003/ND-CP. 
 G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
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STANDING COMMITTEE  SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM 
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY  Independence - Freedom - Happiness 
No. 42-2002-PL-UBTVQH10  
 Hanoi, 25 May 2002 
 
ORDINANCE 
ON SAFEGUARDS IN THE IMPORT OF FOREIGN  
GOODS INTO VIETNAM 
 
In order to strengthen State administration of the economy; create favorab le conditions for the 
economy of Vietnam to integrate effectively into  the international economy;  and restrict the 
disadvantageous impact of irregular increases of goods imported into Vietnam which cause serious loss to domestic manufacturing;    
Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Soci alist Republic of Vietnam as amended by 
Resolution 51-2001-QH10 of Legislature X of the National Assembly at its 10th session on 
25 December 2001;    
Pursuant to the Resolution of Legislature X of the National Assembly at its 10th session on 
the program for formulation of laws and ordinances in 2002;   
 
This Ordinance provides for safeguard measures in relation to the import of foreign goods 
into Vietnam.   
CHAPTER I 
 
General Provisions  
 
Article 1.- Scope of regulation 
 
 This Ordinance prescribes the substantive and pr ocedural steps to be taken in order to adopt 
safeguard measures in cases of excessive imports of  goods into Vietnam, which causes serious injury 
to the domestic manufacturing industry.    
Article 2.- Right to apply safeguard measures  
 
 The Vietnamese Government has the right to  apply safeguard measures in cases where an 
excessive number of goods of a certain kind are impo rted into Vietnam under the provisions of this 
Ordinance. 
 
Article 3.- Safeguard measures  
 The safeguard measures imposed on imports of foreign goods into Vietnam include:     1. Raising the import tariffs;  2. Imposing import quotas; 
 3. Other measures to be stipulated by the Government.  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Article 4.- Interpretation of terms 
 
 In this Ordinance, the following terms are construed as follows:   
 1. "Excessive import of goods" means the impor t of goods with a volume, quantity or value 
increasing, absolutely or relatively, as compared to  the volume, quantity or value of like products or 
directly competitive product.    2. "Serious injury to the domestic industry" means all manufacturers of similar goods or goods 
directly competing within the territory of Vietna m being manufactured domestically, or their legal 
representatives, which account for the major proporti on of the total production of goods of that 
industry.    3. "Threat to cause serious injury to the domestic manufacturing industry" means the likely, obvious and provable possibility of causing serious  injury to the domestic industry.   
 
4. "Domestic industry" means all manufacturers of  the like or directly competitive goods within 
the territory of Vietnam or their legal representa tives, accounting for a major proportion in the total 
output of goods made by that industry in the country.    5. "Like products" are identical goods or goods with the same functions, utility, quality 
specifications, technical properties and other intrinsic features.   
 6. "Directly competitive goods" are goods likely to be accepted by buyers in replacement for 
goods falling under the scope of application of safe guard measures, because of their competitive 
edges in terms of price and use purpose.   
 
Article 5.- Principles for application of safeguard measures 
 
1. Safeguard measures shall be applied within the necessary scope and to the necessary extent in 
order to prevent or limit serious injury to the do mestic manufacturing industry and creating conditions 
for that manufacturing industry to raise its competitive ability.   
 
2. The application of safeguard measures must rely on the investigation results prescribed in 
Chapter II of this Ordinance, except for cases of application of temporary safeguard measures.  
 3. Safeguard measures shall apply on the basis of non-discrimination and irrespective of their 
source. 
 
Article 6.- Conditions for the application of safeguard measures 
 
 Safeguard measures shall apply to imported goods only when the following conditions are 
met:   
 
1. The volume, quantity or value of imported goods suddenly increases, either absolutely or 
relatively, as compared with the volume, quantity or  value of like products or directly competitive 
products.    
2. The increases in the volume, quantity or value of imported go ods mentioned in Clause 1 of 
this Article cause or threaten to cause serious in jury to the domestic industry producing like products 
or directly competitive products.   G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
Page 4  
 
  Article 7.- Consultation 
 
1. The Ministry of Trade may consult the inter ested parties in the process of investigation and 
application of safeguard measures at their requests in  order to create conditions for all the interested 
parties to express their opinions and supply necessary information.   
 
2. The interested parties shall not be obliged to  attend consultations;  any parties not present at 
consultations shall still have their interests related to safeguard measures preserved.   
 
Article 8.- Injury indemnification 
 1. Compensation , including the amount of compensation for any loss caused by application of 
safeguard measures, shall be implemented in accord ance with the laws of Vietnam and international 
treaties which Vietnam has signed or to which Vietnam has acceded.    
2. Compensation, including the amount of compensation for any loss, shall be determined on the 
basis of the results of consultation between parties concerned.   
Article 9.- Agency responsible for investigation 
 
 The Ministry of Trade shall be responsible fo r conducting the investigation before deciding to 
apply or not to apply safeguard measures. 
 
Article 10.- Basis for investigation 
 
1. The Ministry of Trade shall conduct the investigation after receiving the application 
requesting the adoption of safeguard measures from the organizations and/or individuals representing 
the domestic manufacturing industry on the condition that all the goods made by these organizations 
and/or individuals account for at least 25% of the output of like or directly competitive products.  The 
organizations and/or individuals s ubmitting such applications shall be accountable for the information 
in their application.    
2. The Ministry of Trade shall conduct the i nvestigation on its own initiative in cases where it 
has evidences proving the necessity of  applying safeguard measures.   
 
Article 11.- Dossiers requesting the adoption of safeguard measures 
 
 The applications requesting the adoption of safeguard measures addressed to the Ministry of 
Trade shall consist of:    1. The written request for the application of safe guard measures, made acco rding to the form set 
by the Ministry of Trade;    Article 12.- Decisions to investigate for the adoption of safeguard measures  
1. In cases where an application requesting the adoption of safeguard measures lacks 
information, within 15 days after receiving such dossier, the Ministry of Trade must inform the 
organization or individual thereof for additiona l information.  The time limit for supplying the 
additional information shall be at least 30 days fro m the date the concerned organization or individual 
receives the request for additional information.  Th e Ministry of Trade shall not issue investigation 
decisions if information is not supplied within the prescribed time limit.   
  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  2. Within 30 days of receiving the application with  full information, the Ministry of Trade must 
issue investigation decisions.    3. Pending the official investigation decisions , the Ministry of Trade must not disclose the 
contents of the application requesting the adoption of safeguard measures.   
 
4. Where it refuses to issue an investigation d ecision, the Ministry of Trade must notify the 
reasons therefore to the organization or individual  that has submitted the application requesting the 
adoption of safeguard measures.    
5. The Ministry of Trade shall not issue investigation decisions if the organizations or 
individuals that have submitted the application requesting the adoption of safeguard measures 
withdraw the application, except for cases wher e it has evidence substantiating the necessity of 
continuing the investigation.    Article 13.- Parties related to the investigation process  
 The parties involved in the investigation process include:   
 1. Overseas organizations or individuals ma nufacturing and exporting the goods subject to 
investigation;   
 
2. Organizations or individuals importing the goods subject to investigation;   
 3. The overseas commodity line association represen ting the majority of organizations and/or 
individuals manufacturing, exporting or importi ng the goods subject to investigation;   
 
4. The Government and competent agencies of  the country exporting the goods subject to 
investigation;    5. Organizations and/or indi viduals submitting the dossier re questing the application of 
safeguard measures;   
 
6. Domestic organizations and/or individual s manufacturing similar or directly competitive 
goods;  7. The domestic commodity line association re presenting the majority of organizations and 
individuals manufacturing similar or directly competitive goods;   
 8. The trade union organizations representing the interests of the labourers in the domestic manufacturing industry;    9. Vietnam Peasants' Association; 
 
10. The organization that protects the interests of Vietnamese consumers;  11. The competent Vietnamese State agencies;  
12. Organizations and individua ls having legitimate rights a nd interests related to the 
investigation process or able to help ful for the investigation process. G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
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  Article 14.- Supply of information to the investigation process 
 
1. The related State agencies, organizations and individuals shall have a responsibility to 
cooperate in and create favourable conditions fo r the investigation process as well as to supply 
necessary information at the request of the Ministry of Trade.   
 
2. The Ministry of Trade shall have a responsib ility to keep informati on confidential according 
the provisions of law.    
Article 15.- Management of the import of goods subject to investigation 
 1. The investigation process during in order to c onsider the ability applying safeguard measures 
must not hinder the clearance of customs procedures for imported goods which are subject to investigation.    
2. From the issue of the investigation decisi on to the end of the investigation process, the 
Ministry of Trade may apply a regime in which im port permits are granted for the goods subject to 
investigation.  The granting of such permits sha ll serve for statistical purposes only but shall not limit 
the quantity, volume or value of the imported goods.    
Article 16.- Investigation contents 
  The investigation must be conducted in an objective manner, taking into account the 
peculiarities of the domestic production situation and clarifying the following:    1. The sudden increase in the volume, quantit y or value of the imported goods subject to 
investigation; 
 2. The serious injury or threat to cause serious  injury to the domestic manufacturing industry on 
the basis of evaluating:  a) Changes in the situation of consumption on  the domestic market of goods which are the 
subject of the investigation; 
b) Changes in volumes being manufactured; indicators of employee productivity;  co-efficients of utilization of production capacity;  profit and loss le vels;  and percentage of the employment for the 
industry which manufactures the goods which are the subject of the investigation;  c) Ratio of import goods which are the subject of the investigation to similar or directly 
competing goods being sold on the domestic market.   
 3. The causal link between the rapidly increasing im ports of the goods and the serious injury or 
threat to cause serious injury to the domestic manufacturing industry.    
Article 17.- Termination of investigation 
  The Ministry of Trade shall decide to terminat e stop the investigation in the following cases:   
 1. The applicants withdraw the application fo r the adoption of safeguard measures during the 
investigation process; 
 
2. The related foreign parties commit themselves to  precluding the serious injury or the threat to 
cause serious injury to the domestic manufacturing industry;   3. Other cases to be stipulated by the Government.    G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Article 18.-Investigation duration and publication of investigation results 
 
1. The duration of the investigation shall be no mo re than 6 months from the date the Ministry of 
Trade issues the investigation decision;  in cases of necessity, the duration of the investigation may be extended once for another 2 subsequent months.   
 
2. After the investigation is concluded, the Minist ry of Trade shall make the investigation results 
public.    
Article 19.- Decision to apply or not to apply safeguard measures 
 1. On the basis of the investigation results, the Mi nistry of Trade shall issue a decisions to apply 
or not to apply safeguard measures after consulti ng the ministries and ministerial-level agencies 
concerned.  Such decisions must be made public.    
2. The safeguard measures prescribed in this Ordi nance may not be applied if their application 
results in one of the following consequences:     a/ Causing domestic socio-economic injury;  b/ Causing harm to the interests of the majority of goods consumers;  c/ Other consequences to be determined by the Government.   
 
Article 20.- Application of temporary safeguard measures 
 
1. The Ministry of Trade may issue a decisions  to apply temporary safeguard measures before 
concluding the investigation if it deems that dela ying the application of safeguard measures would 
cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic manufacturing industry, and that such 
damage would be difficult to repair.    2. Temporary safeguard measures shall be only ap plied on the condition that the Ministry of 
Trade continues the investigation.    
3. The decisions to apply temporary safeguard measures must be publicly notified to the 
interested parties.    4. Temporary safeguard measures shall be app lied only in the form of import tariffs in 
accordance with the Export Tax and Import Tax Law.   
 
5. The effective duration of temporary safeguard  measures must not exceed the duration needed 
for eliminating the serious injury or for preventing the threat to cause serious injury to the domestic 
manufacturing industry and for that industry to ma ke the appropriate adjustments to the competitive 
circumstance.  The effective duration of temporary safeguard measures shall end after the Ministry of Trade issues the decision to apply or not to a pply the safeguard measures but must not, under any 
circumstances, exceed 200 days from the date from which they are applied.   
 6. In cases of necessity the Ministry of Trade ma y issue a decisions to terminate the application 
of temporary safeguard measures ahead of time.    
7. Where the Trade Ministry's investigation results show that the application of temporary 
safeguard measures is unnecessary or the import tariff should be set a rate lower than the one already 
imposed, the tax difference shall be promptly refunded  to the tax payers according to the provisions of 
law.    G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
Page 8  
 
  Article 21.- Adoption of safeguard measures 
 
1. The adoption of safeguard measures shall be b ased on the effective decisions of the Ministry 
of Trade.    
2. The safeguard measures may not be app lied to goods originating from underdeveloped 
countries.    
Article 22.- Duration of the application of safeguard measures 
 
1. The duration of the application of safeguard measures, including the duration of the 
application of temporary ones, shall not exceed four years.    2. The duration of the application of safeguard  measures may be extended once for another six 
subsequent years, provided that the serious injury or the threat to cause serious  injury to the domestic 
manufacturing industry is still present and there is  evidence proving that the affected manufacturing 
industry is adjusting itself to be more competitive.    
Article 23.- Termination of the application of safeguard measures 
 
 The Ministry of Trade shall issue a decisions  to terminate the application of safeguard 
measures in the following cases:   
 1. The conditions for application of  safeguard measures no longer exist; 
 2. The continued application of safeguard meas ures causes serious injury to the domestic socio-
economic situation. 
 
Article 24.- Principles for the scrutiny of safeguard measures 
 
1. Where the duration of the application of safeguard measures lasts for over three years, the 
Ministry of Trade shall have to scrutinize the safe guard measures before half of this period has passed 
so as to conclude whether to maintain, terminat e, or mitigate the application of, the safeguard 
measures.    2. The scrutiny of safeguard measures must comp ly with the provisions in Chapter II of this 
Ordinance.   
 
Article 25.- Decision on the results of the scrutiny of safeguard measures 
 
 After scrutinizing the safeguard measures, th e Ministry of Trade shall issue one of the 
following decisions:    
1. To maintain the safeguard  measures being applied;   
 2. To reduce the level of application of those measures;  3. To terminate the safegua rd measures being applied. 
 
Article 26.- Extension of the application of safeguard measures 
 
1. The Ministry of Trade shall consider exte nding the application of safeguard measures on the 
basis of the application requesting the extension th ereof, which are submitted by the organizations or  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 9 
 
 
  individuals representing the domestic manufacturing in dustry, in accordance with the provisions in 
Clause 1, Article 10 of this Ordinance.     The application requesting the extension of the application of safeguard measures must 
include the evidence showing that the affected  manufacturing industry has taken the necessary 
adjusting measures to increase its co mpetitiveness.  The application must be sent to the Ministry of 
Trade at least six months before the date on which such safeguard measures cease to be effective.   
 2. The procedures for investigation, publication a nd notification prescribed in Chapter II of this 
Ordinance shall also apply to the extension of  the application of safeguard measures.   
 
3. The extent of the application of safeguard  measures during the extended time must not be 
higher than that in the preceding duration.    
Article 27.- Regulations on the re-application of safeguard measures 
  A safeguard measure once applied in respect of  any one type of goods  may be re-applied in 
respect of the same type of goods in acco rdance with the following provisions:   
 1. In the case where a safeguard m easure has been applied in resp ect of any one type of goods 
for more than four years, it may only be re-applied in respect of the same type of goods after a period 
of time equal to one half (½) of the former period.   
 2. In the case where a safeguard m easure has been applied in resp ect of any one type of goods 
for from six months up to four years, it may only be  re-applied in respect of the same type of goods 
after two years.   
 
3. In the case where a safeguard m easure has been applied in resp ect of any one type of goods 
for less than six months, it may be re-applied in resp ect of the same type of goods when both of the 
following conditions are satisfied:    (a) at least one year has elapsed since the date of introduction of a safeguard measure on the 
import of that product;  and 
(b) such a safeguard measure has not been applied on the same product more than twice in the 
five year period immediately preceding the date of introduction of the measure.    4. The re-application of a safeguard to a certai n kind of goods must comply with the procedures 
as for the first-time application.   
 
Article 28.- State management over th e application of safeguard measures 
 
 The State management over the application of safeguard measures shall include: 
 
1. Promulgating, and organizing the implementa tion of legal documents on the application of 
safeguard measures;    2. Organizing the application of safeguard measures;    
3. Propagating and disseminating le gislation and policies related to  the application of safeguard 
measures;    4. Conducting an investigation before  applying safeguard measures;   
 G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
Page 10  
 
  5. Organizing and conductin g consultations with the interested parties;   
 6. Deciding whether or not to apply safeguard measures;   
 7. Guiding the application of safeguard measures;   
 
8. Organizing the gathering, processing and supply of information about the application of 
safeguard measures;    9. Inspecting and supervising the observance of the legislation on the application of safeguard 
measures;   
 10. Settling complaints about and handling violations of the legi slation on the application of 
safeguard measures.    Article 29.- Agencies in charge of the State management over the application of safeguard 
measures  
1. The Government shall provide the overall State management over the application of 
safeguard measures.  
2. The Ministry of Trade shall be responsible  to the Government for performing the unified 
providing the State management for the application of  safeguard measures;  organizing the application 
of safeguard measures after consulting the concerned ministries and ministerial-level agencies.    3. The ministries, the ministerial-level agen cies and the People's Committees of the provinces 
and centrally-run cities shall, within the ambit of th eir respective tasks and powers, have to coordinate 
with the Ministry of Trade in order to mana ge the application of safeguard measures.   
 
Article 30.- Complaints 
 
1. Complaints related to the process of investig ation and application of safeguard measures must 
be addressed to the Ministry of Trade. 
 2. The Ministry of Trade shall have to settle  complaints within 30 days after receiving the 
written complaints.  In special cases, this time lim it may be prolonged but must not exceed 60 days.   
 
3. Where the time limit prescribed in Clause 2 of  this Article has expired but the Ministry of 
Trade has not yet settled the complaints or the comp laining organizations or individuals disagree with 
the complaint-settling decisions of the Ministry of Trade, these organizations or individuals may initiate lawsuits in the courts accordi ng to the provisions of the law.   
 
Article 31.- Settlement of disputes and handling of infringements 
 
The settlement of disputes and handling of infri ngements shall comply with the provisions of 
Vietnamese law and the international treaties which Vietnam has signed or acceded to.    
Article 32.- Implementation effect 
  This Ordinance takes effect from 1 September 2002.  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
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  Article 33.- Implementation guidance 
 
 The Government shall specify and guide the implementation of this Ordinance. 
  
On behalf of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly 
 
Chairman 
  
NGUYEN VAN AN G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
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GOVERNMENT SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM 
Independence - Freedom - Happiness 
No. 150-2003-ND-CP  
 Hanoi, 8 December 2003 
 
  
DECREE  
ON SAFEGUARDS IN THE IMPORT OF FOREIGN GOODS 
INTO VIETNAM 
 
Providing detailed regulations for implementation of Ordinance on  
Safeguards in the Import of Foreign Goods into Vietnam  
THE GOVERNMENT  
 
Pursuant to the Law on the Organization of  the Government dated 25 December 2001;  
 
Pursuant to Ordinance 42-2002-PL-UBTVQH10 on Safeguards in the Import of Foreign 
Goods into Vietnam dated 25 May 2002;  
 
On the proposal of the Minister of Trade;  
 
DECREES:  
CHAPTER I  
General Provisions  
 Article 1.- Governing scope 
  This Decree details the implementation of th e Ordinance on safeguards against imports into 
Vietnam;  prescribes safeguard measures, investigation procedures and the application of these measures in case a surge in imports into Vietnam causes or threatens to cau se serious injury to 
domestic industries.    
Article 2.- Safeguard measures 
 
 Safeguard measures against imports into Vietnam may include:    1. Imposing higher import duty rates than the current import duty rates; 2. Applying the import quotas; 
3. Applying the tariff quotas; 
4. Applying absolute tax; 5. Using import permits to control import; 6. Imposing surcharges on import goods; 7. Other measures.  Article 3.- Determination of domestic industry 
 
 Domestic industry means all the producers of like goods or directly competitive goods within the Vietnamese territory or their lawful representativ es, who together represent at least 50% of such 
industry's total output.  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Article 4.- Interpretation of concepts 
 
 In this Decree, the following concep ts shall be construed as follows:   
 1. "An import surge" means either an absolute  increase or a relative increase in the import 
volume, quantity or value as compared with the volum es, quantity or value of like goods or directly 
competitive goods, which are produced at home.    2. "Serious injury to domestic industries" means a significant overall impairment of the position of a domestic industry in light of relevant factors of  an objective and quantifiabl e nature, in particular, 
the rate and amount of the increase in imports of th e product concerned in abso lute and relative terms, 
the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, 
productivity, capacity utilization, profits and losses, and employment.    3. "Threat to cause serious injury to domestic industries" means the strong, obvious and 
provable possibility of serious injury be ing caused to domestic industries.   
 4. "Like goods" means goods which are identical or similar in function, utility, quality specifications, technical qualities and other basic properties.    5. "Directly competitive goods" means goods which are likely to be accepted by buyers as a 
substitute for the goods subject to safeguard measures due to their advantageous prices and purposes.   
 
Article 5.- Investigation procedures 
 
1. The Trade Ministry is responsible for conduc ting investigations leading to decisions on the 
application or non-application of safeguards measures.   
 2. The investigation is conducted when:    a) Organizations or individuals representing the domestic industry file their applications 
requesting the application of safeguard measures in  accordance with Article 10 of the Ordinance on 
safeguards against imports into Vietnam.   
 b) There is evidence showing the necessity to apply safeguard measures.    3. Basing itself on the applications requesting th e adoption of safeguard measures or evidence 
already verified, the Trade Ministry shall issue a decision whether or not to initiate an investigation in 
accordance with Article 12 of the Ordinance on safeguards against imports into Vietnam.    4. In the course of the investigation, the con cerned State bodies, organizations and/or individuals 
shall have to coordinate with, a nd supply necessary information at the request of, the Trade Ministry.   
 
5. After the completion of the investigation (within the time limits prescribed in Article 18 of the 
Ordinance on safeguards against imports into Vietnam), the Trade Ministry shall publicize the investigation results on all pertinent issues of fact and law.    6. On the basis of the investigation results, th e Trade Ministry shall conduct consultations with 
the concerned parties and, where necessary, seek ad vice from the relevant ministries and/or agencies, 
on forms of safeguard measures (in case of applicati on) and the consequences of the application of 
these measures.  By then, th e Trade Ministry shall issue a decision s whether or not to apply safeguard 
measures.  Such decisions must be publicized.    G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
Page 14  
 
  Article 6.- Content of the written requests for the application of safeguard measures 
 
 The form of written request for the applicati on of safeguard measures is prescribed by the 
Trade Ministry and shall include th e following principal content:   
 
1. A detailed description of import goods in term s of their technical qualities and major intended 
use, their respective HS (har monized system) codes and tariff rates under the contemporary 
Nomenclature of Imports – Exports of Vietnam.    2. A detailed description of like goods or directly  competitive goods in terms of their technical 
qualities and use purpose;   
 3. Names and addresses of individuals, enterprises or organizations representing the enterprises that file the written requests and the representatives of  producers of like goods or directly competitive 
goods;   
 
4. The percentage of imported goods over the out put of like goods or directly competitive goods 
domestically produced by the individuals or enterprises that file written requests;   
 5. The information on volume, quantity and value of  the subject imports of the current year and 
each year in the period of three consecutive years before the request for application of safeguard 
measures is made;   
 6. The description of the import surge, in bo th absolute and relative terms, over domestic 
production;    
7. Information related to serious injury or threat  of causing serious injury to domestic industries 
of the current year and each year in the period of three consecutive years before the request for 
application of safeguard measu res is filed, including: 
 a) The quantity, volume and value of like goods  or directly competitive goods, which are 
produced domestically; 
b) Utilization of production capacity; 
c) Market shares; d) Inventories; e) Profits or losses; f) Employment; 
g) Number of labourers used by the domestic industries, their respective proportion in total 
employment and wage rates; h) Changes in consumption in  terms of quantity, prices; 
i) Other relevant necessary information.    8. Information related to the possible increase in  imports and the export capacity or inventories 
of the subject goods in exporting countries, which threaten to cause serious injury to domestic 
industries, if any;    9. Explanation on the serious injury which is  caused or threatened by the import surge; 
 
10. The specific requirements on safeguard measure s, the temporary application of safeguard 
measures and the time limit for application of such measures;    11. The adjustment plan of the domestic indus try to raise the competitiveness of the subject 
imports.    G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Article 7.- The content of decisions to initiate safeguard investigations 
 
 The Trade Ministry's decision to initiate safegua rd investigations shall contain the following 
principal content:    
1. A detailed description of import goods in term s of their technical qualities and use purpose, 
their respective HS (harmonized system) codes a nd tariff rates under the contemporary Nomenclature 
of Imports – Exports of Vietnam.    2. A detailed description of like goods or directly  competitive goods in terms of their technical 
qualities and purpose of use;   
 3. Names and addresses of individuals, enterprises or organizations representing the enterprises that file the written requests and the representatives of  producers of like goods or directly competitive 
goods;   
 
4. The name(s) of the country(ies) of origin of the subject imports;    5. Brief information relating to the increase of  import of the goods which are the subject of 
investigation and to the serious injury or threat of serious injury to a domestic manufacturing industry 
due to the increased imports.    
 
Article 8.- Content of the investigation into serious injury or threat to cause serious injury 
 
 The investigation to determine whether the import surge causes or threatens to cause serious 
injury to domestic industries shall be based on the following criteria:   
 
1. The absolute and relative increase in the import volume of the subject goods as compared 
with that of like goods or directly co mpetiting goods of the domestic industry;  
 2. The impact of such increase in the import of  the subject goods on domestic market shares.  
 
3. The prices of the subject goods as compared to  the price of like goods or directly competitive 
goods of the domestic industry.    4. The impact of the import surge of the subject goods on the domestic industry through such elements as:  output, utilization of production capacity, sales, market shares, prices, labour 
productivity, profits or losses, employment rates, in come and other elements, which cause or threaten 
to cause serious injury to domestic industry;    5. The inventory level, poten tial and actual export capability, the probability of raising the 
export volumes of the subject goods of one or many exporting countries;    
6. Other elements relevant to the investigation. 
 
Article 9.- Confidentiality 
 
 The Trade Ministry shall have to keep conf idential the information supplied by State bodies, 
organizations and/or individuals involved in the investigation process;  and must not publicize them 
without consent of the information suppliers.   G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
Page 16  
 
  Article 10.- Consultation in the investigation process 
 
1. The parties involved in the investigation pro cess have the right to present evidence in writing, 
present their arguments, to participate in debate and to express their opinions on the socio-economic 
benefits which would result from app lication of safeguard measures.   
 
2. The Trade Ministry shall consult with the concerned parties during the course of the investigation and make records on co nsultations and publicize them, ex cept confidential information.   
 
Article 11.- Notification on the tempor ary application of safeguard measures 
  The temporary application of safeguard measur es before the completion of the investigation 
shall comply with Article 20 of the Ordinan ce on safeguards against imports into Vietnam. 
  The decisions on the temporary application of safeguard measures shall be publicized with the 
following contents:   
 1. A detailed description of import goods in terms of their technical qualities and purpose of use, 
their respective HS (harmonized system) codes a nd tariff rates under the contemporary Nomenclature 
of Imports – Exports of Vietnam.    
2. A detailed description of like goods or directly  competitive goods in terms of their technical 
qualities and purpose of use;    3. Names of enterprises which produce like goods or directly competitive goods, if any;   
 
4. The name(s) of the country(ies) of origin of the subject imports, if applicable; 
 5. The increase in the import duty rate due to th e temporary application of safeguard measures; 
 6. The duration of temporary app lication of safeguard measures; 
 
7. Information and evidences proving that the rise in the import of the goods subject to 
investigation causes or threatens to cause serious injury to domestic industries, if any; 
 8. Information and evidence proving that tard iness in temporary application of safeguard 
measures will cause or threaten to cause serious in jury to domestic industries, which can hardly be 
remedied. 
 
Article 12.- Refund of import tax differences due to the temporary application of safeguard 
measures  
1. In cases where the results of the Trade Mini stry's investigation show that the temporary 
application of safeguard measures is not necessary or the increase in import duty should have been 
smaller than that already-applied, the differentials  shall be refunded to the duty payers.  The Trade 
Ministry shall issue a decision thereon.    2. The duty differentials prescribed in Clause 1 of  this Article shall be refunded within 30 days 
of the date on which the Trade Ministry issues a deci sion to apply or not to a pply safeguard measures.   
 3. No interest shall be paid on the duty differ entials mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article.   
  G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
 Page 17 
 
 
  4. The Finance Ministry shall have to carry ou t procedures for tax refund under the current legal 
provisions on the basis of the Trade Ministry's decision as provided for in this Article.    
Article 13.- Application of safeguard measures against less-developed countries 
 
1. The safeguard measures shall not be app lied to imported goods originating from a less 
developed country if the volume of imports from such country into Vietnam does not exceed 3% of 
the total volume of goods subject to safeguard investigation.    2. The safeguard measures shall apply to imported goods originating from less-developed 
countries if the combined import volume from such countries into Vietnam exceeds 9% of the total 
volume of imported goods subject to safeguard inves tigation, regardless of the provisions in Clause 1 
of this Article.    3. The determination of less-developed c ountries shall be based on the United Nations 
Organization's criteria for classification of less-developed countries.   
 
Article 14.- Notification on the application of safeguard measures 
 
 Decisions on the application of safeguard meas ures must be publicized with the following 
content:   
 
1. A detailed description of import goods in terms of their technical qualities and purpose of use, 
their respective HS (harmonized system) codes a nd tariff rates under the contemporary Nomenclature 
of Imports – Exports of Vietnam.    
2. A detailed description of like goods or directly  competiting goods in terms of their technical 
qualities and purpose of use;    3. Names of enterprises which produce like goods  or directly competiting goods, if any; 
 4. The name(s) of the country(ies) of origin of the subject imports; 
 
5. Summary of investigation r esults proving the necessity to apply safeguard measures;   
 6. Forms and extents of application of safeguard measures;  
7. The effective date and duration of the application of safeguard measures; 
 8. Summary of evidence for serious inju ry or threats to cause serious injury; 
 9. Adjustment plan of the domestic industry, which produce like goods or directly competitive 
goods; 
 
10. The refund of import tax differentials due to the temporary application of safeguard measures 
(if any);  11. Name(s) of the less-developed country(ies)  exempted from the application of safeguard 
measures in accordance with Article 13 hereof. G/SG/N/1/VNM/1 
Page 18  
 
  Article 15.- Consultations before the application of safeguard measures 
 
1. Before issuing decisions to apply safeguard measures, the Trade Ministry shall conduct 
adequate consultations with the countries having c onsiderable interests in exporting the subject goods 
to Vietnam.   
 
2. The Trade Ministry may reach an agreement with those countries, as provided for in Clause 1 
of this Article, on forms of compensation in orde r to remedy unfavourable consequences caused by 
the application of safeguard measures.    Article 16.-   
 This Decree shall come into force 15 days af ter its publication in the Official Gazette.   
 
Article 17.- Implementation responsibilities 
 1. The Trade Minister shall have the responsibility for guiding and organizing the 
implementation of this Decree.    2. The ministers, the heads of the ministeria l-level agencies, the heads of the Government-
attached agencies and the presidents of the provinc ial/ municipal People's Committees shall have to 
implement this Decree.   
  
For the Government 
Prime Minister 
 
PHAN VAN KHAI 
  
__________