Vietnam follows WTO price policy: Ministry

Vietnam does not break any price commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO) when issuing a circular on stabilizing dairy prices, said Nguyen Tien Thoa, director of the Price Management Department under the Ministry of Finance.

The statement is in response to a joint call made by the ambassadors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and the European Union for the delay of the Circular No. 122.

These ambassadors said in a common letter addressed to the ministry that the new price control mechanism set by the circular would affect Vietnam’s efforts towards a market economy as well as its performance of WTO regulations.

They added that the mechanism could also hamper the attraction of foreign investment and development of the labor market.

But the director said the document strictly adheres to the Government’s Decree 75/2008/ND-CP of June 9, 2008, which defines milk as a commodity whose prices should be stabilized.

It amends and supplements earlier Circular 104 in order to prevent unreasonable price hike of imported powdered milk.

The ministry did not promulgate any new policy, Thoa stressed.

The Circular No. 122, to be effective on Oct 1, stipulates that importers and traders must register and report prices of powdered milk for under six-year-old children to the price management agency.

Tags: WTO price policy