Vietnam: Suspension of production at local wood processing enterprises impacts exports; Vietnam customs accept the certification of Origin form D
In the first seven months of this year Vietnam's wood and wood product (W&WP) exports earned US$9.6 billion, up 55% year-on-year. However, the suspension of production at local wood processing enterprises due to the COVID-19 pandemic is having effects on exports, according to the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFOREST). Many members of the Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City Fine Arts and Woodworking Association (HAWA) have outstanding orders from overseas but because of the recent surge in infections and the control measures being enforced factories have experienced severe production problems and more than half the works force in the industry has been laid off according to VIFOREST. In the Southern region, a major producer of wood products for export, had 265 wood processing enterprises with a total of 119,300 employees before the covid control measures were introduced, now only 141 enterprises are now in operation with 30,700 employees. HCM City, Dong Nai, Binh Dương and Tay Ninh have reported 134 wood processing enterprises suspended production as they were unable to implement the “3 onsite” model, which involves workers living on site.
In order to facilitate trade during the Covid-19 epidemic period, the General Department of Customs has just issued the document guiding provincial and municipal customs departments for self-certification of origin form D. Accordingly, the agency Customs accepts scanned copies of self-certification of origin form D and self-certification of origin form D with an electronic signature attached by the customs declarant on the electronic data processing system of the Customs departments. Customs officers check the validity of self-certification documents on the basis of exporter information on the website of ASEAN. (http://web.awsc.asean.org), compare with the documents in the customs dossier and the results of physical inspection of goods (if any) to handle according to regulations.