There will soon be a resolution to remove Decree 46 on food safety

Since last weekend, thousands of cargo containers have been “blocked” at border gates and seaports due to problems in implementing Decree 46. At the regular Government meeting on February 4, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said ministries and branches must ask for advice and listen to the opinions of people and businesses. The Prime Minister noted not to operate in a jerky manner. When promulgating legal documents, it is necessary to stipulate specific transitional provisions.

He directed Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long to continue to chair meetings with ministries, branches and construction agencies, and submit to the Government for promulgation a Resolution to remove obstacles to Decree 46 today. This is to remove the problem and not let the goods congestion persist for a long time.

As of February 4, according to statistics from Ho Chi Minh City Customs Branch, Cat Lai port had more than 1,800 containers in stock. Most businesses have not opened customs declarations because they have not completed registration for specialized inspections and licensing notices related to quarantine and food safety.

One of the reasons why goods are blocked at ports and border gates is that Decree 46 took effect at the time of promulgation (January 26), but lacked detailed instructions and a transitional mechanism for state inspection of imported goods. Many units have stopped issuing quarantine and food safety certificates, causing businesses to not have enough customs clearance documents for goods. Not to mention, changing the inspection method when the infrastructure is not ready also causes goods to be congested.

Some associations and businesses asked the Government to consider suspending the application of Decree 46 until March 31 to reassess the appropriateness of the new regulations. They also recommended simplifying or exempting declaration of conformity for materials of unchanged nature, and recognizing testing results from reputable international organizations. Authorities also need to clarify the transition mechanism for previously approved documents.

Also at today’s Government meeting, The Prime Minister also directs a number of ministries and branches to aim for double-digit growth. The Prime Minister requested to focus on stabilizing the macroeconomy and controlling inflation. Specifically, the State Bank regulates interest rates, exchange rates, and foreign exchange appropriately, ensuring the value of the Vietnamese currency. Credit capital must be directed to production and business, priority areas, growth drivers, social housing, infrastructure, digital technology, production, processing and consumption of agricultural products.

The Ministry of Finance is assigned to strive for state budget revenue in 2026 to exceed at least 10% compared to last year’s implementation. This agency must increase management and promote the development of a stable, safe and effective stock and corporate bond market.

Ministries and localities have solutions to manage and stabilize the market and prices, while fighting against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. The management agency plans to soon operate a gold trading floor, pilot a crypto asset trading floor, and a real estate and land use rights trading center.

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade must ensure adequate supply of electricity, gasoline, essential goods, and input materials for production and business, review problems with FIT prices to resolve in February. The Ministry of Construction promotes the development of the real estate market, including social housing, for middle-income people, and commerce.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the socio-economic situation in January continued a positive trend. For example, the consumer price index (CPI) in January increased by nearly 2.6% over the same period. State budget revenue is estimated at 370,700 billion VND, an increase of 20.4%.

In the first month of the year, newly registered FDI capital was nearly 1.5 billion USD, increasing faster than last year’s pace. The number of newly registered businesses and returning to operation is 48,700, an increase of 76.2% compared to the previous month.