Local businesses need to know clearly about the CE and FDA standards for exporting goods to the EU and US markets, according to experts at a seminar on CE and FDA standards held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

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

"Vietnamese businesses can take advantage of opportunities to boost exports to European and American markets, if they actively meet the requirements of these markets," Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Import and Export Department, said at the seminar organised by the department and the Viet Nam Textile and Garment Association (Vitas).

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

This is one of many events supporting domestic enterprises organised by the MoIT to get technical standard certificates for export goods, especially those relating to COVID-19 pandemic prevention such as face masks.

Hai said at present, many local businesses are facing difficulties in certifying to reach standards and quality, especially processes on completing procedures for CE and FDA certifications.

The businesses often lack information about those certifications so they must get the certifications via brokers. That would risk the certificates made by the brokers are not acceptable in the EU and US markets. Meanwhile, in the future, local enterprises must have CE and FDA certificates for their products to be exported to the EU and US markets.

Duong Phong Hien, chief representative of EUROFINS Group in Ha Noi, said Viet Nam should complete the system of standards and regulations to control and improve quality of goods, especially face masks and protective gear. That would create good conditions to promote competitiveness of Vietnamese textile and apparel products on the global market.

To produce products reaching CE and FDA standards, Vietnamese enterprises must have input materials meeting those standards, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, chief representative of British Standard Institute (BSI) Vietnam Co, Ltd in Ha Noi said.

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

The Viet Nam - European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has been signed and is waiting for approval of Viet Nam’s National Assembly. To take advantage of the FTA, the local businesses must know clearly about the EU market quality standards, including CE marking standards. — VNS