Milk circular ‘doesn’t break WTO rules’

A new Ministry of Finance regulation on powdered milk price increases does not violate Viet Nam’s commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said the director of the ministry’s Price Management Department, Nguyen Tien Thoa.

Circular 122/2010/TT-BTC strictly adhered to Government Decree No 75/2008/ND-CP of June 9, 2008, which defined milk as a commodity in need of price stabilisation, said Thoa. The new regulation would amend the earlier Circular No 104 to prevent unreasonable price hikes of imported powdered milk.

The ministry has not promulgated any new policies, Thoa stressed.

Circular No 122, which takes effect on October 1, stipulates that importers and distributors must register and report the prices of powdered milk products for children under six years of age to the price management agency.

The ministry issued its explanation in response to several foreign-invested dairy distributors and the ambassadors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the European Commission.

In a common letter addressed to the ministry, the ambassadors said the new price control mechanism would interfere with Viet Nam’s efforts to achieve a market economy as well as its compliance with WTO regulations.

It could also hamper the attraction of foreign investment and development of the labour market, the diplomats said. — VNS

Tags: Circular 122/2010/TT-BTC, Vietnam milk, Vietnam milk prices