A garment production line in Viet Nam. With support from the World Bank, Viet Nam will develop a trade information portal to make all regulatory trade-related information usedful fot Vietnamese exporters and importers. — Photo VNA

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The World Bank will help the General Department of Customs develop the Viet Nam Trade Information Portal under a programme to support Viet Nam in implementing the World Trade Organisation's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

A declaration to this effect was signed between the WB and the General Department of Customs yesterday, under which the WB will also help establish a National Committee on Trade Facilitation, making it easier for Viet Nam to fulfill TFA's terms based on the assessment of ministries and agencies' readiness for complying with commitments.

The objective of the portal, which is due to be launched in the next eight months, is to make all regulatory trade-related information useful to Vietnamese exporters and importers easily and readily available in a single integrated website, provide transparency and consistency of trade procedures, and in doing so, increase the compliance level and reduce the cost of doing business at border crossings.

On April 16, 2015, the Government Office issued a document on the Prime Minister's conclusion regarding administrative reform in the customs sector, under which the National Steering Committee on ASEAN and National One-Stop Shop Mechanisms is expected to play the role of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation. — VNS