Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Most Favoured Nation, Market Access, Performance Requirements
Source of Measure: Ordinance on Foreign Exchange No. 28/2005/PL-UBTVQHI11 dated 13 December 2005 and Amended Ordinance on Foreign Exchange No. 06/2013/PL-UBTVQH13 dated 18 March 2013
Description: Viet Nam reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure whenever it deems necessary in order to guarantee financial security and the national currency including but not limited to:
- Restrict purchase, carrying, remittance or payment with respect to transactions in current transactions accounts and capital accounts.
- Apply economic, financial, monetary and other necessary measures.
101. Sector: Financial Services
Sub-sector:
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Most Favored Nation, Market Access, Performance Requirements, Senior Management and Boards of Directors
Source of Measure:
Description: Viet Nam reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measures including but not limited to financial support, such as government- supported loans, guarantees and insurance with respect to activities for a public purpose: income security and insurance, social security, social welfare, social development, housing development, poverty reduction, public education, public training, health, and childcare, promoting the welfare and employment of ethnic minorities and people living in disadvantages areas, small and medium enterprisesâ development, granting of one-time subsidization to promote and facilitate the process of equitisation.
DOMESTIC REGULATION
The measures listed below are included by Viet Nam for the purposes of transparency and reflect the measures of domestic regulation.
1. Sector: Communication Services
Sub-sector: Courier Services (CPC 7512**)
* Express delivery services (27), i.e. services consisting of collection, sorting, transport and delivery, whether for domestic or foreign destination, of:
(a) Written communication (28), on any kind of physical medium, including:
- Hybrid mail service;
- Direct mail.
Except for the handling of items of written communication the price of which is less than:
- 10 times the tariff for the handling of a standard domestic letter in the first weight level for domestic shipments;
- USS$9 for international shipments;
provided that the gross weight of these items is less than 2,000 grams.
(b) Parcels (29) and other goods.
* Handling of non-addressed items
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Market Access
Source of Measure:
- Post Law No. 49/2010/QH12 dated 17 June 2010
- Decree No. 108/2006/ND-CP dated 22 September 2006
- Decree No, 47/2011/ND-CP dated 17 June 2011
Description: Establishment
Foreign investment of more than VND 15 billions (USD 0.75 million) in this subsector is required to be evaluated before being submitted to the Prime Minister for investment certificate.
2. Sector: Telecommunications Services Sub-sector: Basic Services
a. Voice telephone services (CPC 7521)
b. Packet-switched data transmission services (CPC 7523**)
c. Circuit-switched data transmission services (CPC 7523**)
d. Telex services (CPC 7523**)
e. Telegraph services (CPC 7523**)
f. Facsimile services (CPC 7521** + 7529**)
g. Private leased circuit services (CPC 7522** + 7523**)
o*, Other services - Videoconference services (CPC 75292)
- Video Transmission services, excluding broadcasting (30)
- Radio based services includes:
* Mobile telephone (terrestrial and satellite)
* Mobile data (terrestrial and satellite)
* Paging
* PCS
* Trunking
- Internet Exchange Service (IXP) (31)
- Virtual Private Network (VPN) (32)
Value-added Services
h. Electronic mail (CPC 7523 **)
i. Voice mail (CPC 7523 **)
j. On-line information and database retrieval (CPC 7523**)
k. Electronic data interchange (EDI) (CPC 7523**)
L. Enhance/value-added facsimile services, including store and forward, store and retrieve (CPC 7523**)
m. Code and protocol conversion
n. On-line information and data processing (incl. transaction processing) (CPC 843**)
o. Other services
- Internet Access Services IAS
Obligations Concerned: Market Access, National Treatment, Performance Requirements
Source of Measure:
- Law on Telecommunications No. 41/2009/QH12 dated 23 November 2009
- Decree No 108/2006/ND-CP dated 22 September 2006
- Decree No 25/2011/ND-CP dated 6 April 2011
- Administrative measures
Description: Establishment
Foreign investment of less than VND 300 billion in this subsector is required to be registered at provincial competent authorities for investment license.
Foreign investment of more than VND 300 billion in this subsector is required to be evaluated by provincial competent authorities for investment license.
Foreign investment in this subsector is required to be evaluated by provincial competent authorities in accordance with governmental investment policies for investment license.
3. Sector: Financial Services
Sub-sector: Insurance
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment
Source of Measure:
- Law on Insurance Business No.24/2000/QH10 dated 9 December 2000
- Decree 45/2007/ND-CP dated 27 March 2007
- Law amending and supplementing some articles of the Insurance Business Law No. 61/2010/QH12 dated 24 November 2010
- Decree 123/2011/ND-CP dated 28 December 2011
- Circular 124/2012/TT-BTC dated 30 July 2012
Description: In addition to the general conditions for being granted the establishment and operation license, financial services suppliers or investors of a Party asking for the permission to establish foreign insurance enterprises, foreign insurance brokerage enterprises and reinsurance enterprises and reinsurance enterprises must satisfy a number of additional conditions on a minimum years of experience, value of total assets, making profits and no violation of the laws and regulations on insurance broking business or of other laws of the country where it has head office.
4. Sector: Financial Services
Sub sector: Insurance
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment
Source of Measure: Law on insurance business No 24/2000/QH10 dated 9 December 2000
Description: In addition to the general requirements of accounting, auditing and financial reporting regimes, the foreign-invested insurance enterprises and representative offices of foreign-invested insurance enterprises must submit the annual financial reports of their parents company within 180 days from the end of a fiscal year.
5. Sector: Financial Services
Sub sector: Securities
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Market Access
Source of Measure:
- Regulation on securities trading at the Hanoi Stock Exchange - promulgated under Decision No. 326/QD-SGDHN dated 04 June 2010 by the General Director of Hanoi Stock Exchange
- Regulation on securities trading at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange â promulgated under Decision No.124/QD-SGDHCM dated 9 October 2007 by the General Director of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange
Description: Foreign securities services suppliers or foreign securities investment companies must comply with the regulations on securities trading of foreign investors relating to trading codes and trading principles for foreign investors in the regulated organized securities trading markets (Stock exchange, UpCom or other regulated markets), The transaction might be made in his own account or on behalf of customers.
6. Sector: Financial Services
Sub-sector: Securities
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Market Access
Source of Measure:
- Securities Law No.70/2006/QH11 dated 29 June 2006 and Amended Law on Securities No.62/2010/QH12 dated 24 November 2010
- Circular No.43/2010/TT-BTC dated 23 March 2010 to amend and supplement regulations on securities registration, depository, clearing and settlementâ - attached to Decision No.87/2007/QD-BTC dated 22 October 2007 of the Minister of Finance
Description: Viet Nam reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measures on registration regulation and procedures to become settlement bank for securities transactions in Viet Nam.
7. Sector: Manufacturing
Sub-sector:
- Processing of aqua-product and canned seafood (ISIC 1512)
- Paper production (ISIC 2101)
- Production of automobile tires and tubes up to 450mm (ISIC 2511) - Production of rubber gloves, labour sanitary boots (ISIC 2520)
- Assembly of marine engines (ISIC 2911)
- Production of electro-mechanical and refrigeration equipment (ISIC 2919)
- Manufacturing of cultivation, processing, reaping machines, insecticide pumps, spare parts of agricultural machines and engines (ISIC 2921)
- Production of household electric appliances (ISIC 2930)
- Production of electrical fans (ISIC 2930)
- Production of bicycle manufacture (ISIC 3592)
- Production of sanitary ceramics, porcelain and tiles (ISIC 2691)
- Manufacturing and assembling of transport vehicles (ISIC 3410)
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment, Market access, Performance Requirements, Senior Management and Boards of Directors
Source of Measure:
Description: Establishment
Viet Nam reserves the right to adopt or maintain technology and/or environment and/or quality requirements in these above subsectors.
ANNEX 1. TO PROTOCOL No. 1 BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM, OF THE ONE PART, AND THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION AND ITS MEMBER STATES, OF THE OTHER PART. LIST OF MFN EXEMPTIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLES 8.15 AND 8.22 OF THE AGREEMENT
| Sectors or sub-sectors | Description of measure indicating its inconsistency with Article 8.15 and 8.22 of the Agreement | Country or countries to which the measure applies | Intended duration | Conditions creating the need for the MFN exemption |
| All sectors/presence of natural persons | Measures based on existing and future agreements with the objective of providing for the movement of natural persons supplying services. | Parties to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Russian federation and the European Communities and their Member States signed at 24 June 1994 with future supplements; CIS countries. | Indefinite | Measures are aimed at progressive liberalization between the Russian Federation and its regional trading partners. |
| 2. COMMUNICATION SERVICES | ||||
| D. Audio-visual services | Measures with respect to broadcasting and other similar forms of transmission of the audio-visual works, including television and radio programs, meeting origin criteria and other criteria, established by the respective agreements. | Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Trans-frontier Television or other countries with whom bilateral agreements may be concluded. | Indefinite | Development of cultural links and protection of cultural heritage. |
| D. Audio-visual services | Measures based on co-production agreements, which confer national treatment with respect to audio-visual works covered by these agreements, including in relation to subsidies for production and distribution. | Parties to the European Convention on Cinematographic Coproduction and countries with whom bilateral coproduction agreements are/may be concluded. | Indefinite | Development of cultural links and protection of cultural heritage. |
| D. Audio-visual services | Measures granting the benefit of support programs to audio-visual works, including television and radio programs, and suppliers of such works meeting certain origin criteria. | Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Trans-frontier Television, Parties to the European Convention on Cinematographic Coproduction or other European countries with whom bilateral agreements may be concluded. | Indefinite | Development of cultural links and protection of cultural heritage. |
| 5. EDUCACIONAL SERVICES | ||||
| Measures with respect to opening and activity of branches. | Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine | Indefinite | Measures are aimed at preservation and development of relations in the field of education | |
| 11. TRANSPORT SERVICES | ||||
| A. Maritime Transport Services | In the cases and subject to the procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation cabotage transportation and sabotage towing may be carried out by foreign vessels. | All countries | Indefinite | The measure reflects existing practice of ad hoc regulation of the issues concerned on the basis of case-by-case decisions and subject to the concrete situation. |
| Measures with respect to the access of vessels under Polish flag to the Russian part of Kaliningrad bay and Baltic sea channel. | Poland | Indefinite | Ensuring of obligations under international agreement and preservation of traditional relations in the field of maritime transportation. | |
| Special regime of shipping in Caspian sea. | Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. | Indefinite | Development of regional cooperation | |
| Measures allowing for bilateral agreements concerning cargo sharing and cargo reservation. | Algeria, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, Syria, Tunisia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Ghana. | Indefinite | Existing respective agreements | |
| Measures related to maritime operators such as priority rights under the Production Sharing Agreements and in relation to maritime agency activities. | Parties to the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Communities and their Member States signed at 24 June 1994 with future supplements. | Indefinite | Ensuring of obligations under international agreement | |
| Measures related to maritime operators such as priority rights under the Production Sharing Agreements | Norway | Indefinite | Ensuring of obligations under international agreement | |
| B. Internal Waterways Transport. a) Passenger transportation b) Freight transportation | Measures contained in the existing and future agreements on access to inland waterways which provide for the preferential treatment with respect to traffic rights and access to ports and port service, payment of tonnage, dues and other charges. | All parties to existing and future agreements | Indefinite | Maintenance and development of the achieved level of economic links with the States concerned and more particularly with certain regions of such states. |
| C. Air Transport Services - Selling and Marketing | Measures concerning establishment of companies and opening of representative offices, applied on the basis of reciprocity | All parties to existing and future respective air transportation agreements. | Indefinite | Implementation of the conditions for supply of air transport services established in the framework of the existing bilateral air transportation agreements |
| E. Rail Transport Services | Measures maintained in the framework of the existing and future agreements regulating the rules of carriage, the terms of operation and transportation, supply of services related to rail transport services in the territory of Russian Federation and between the countries – parties to the agreements. | All parties to existing and future agreements. | Indefinite | Ensuring the integrity of railway transport as a single production and technological complex, regulation of carriage in the territory of the Russian Federation and between the countries - parties of the agreements |
| F. Road Transport Services - International road passenger and freight transportation | Measures in the framework of the existing and future agreements on market access in respect of the road transport services including tax exemptions. | All parties to existing and future respective agreements, which may be concluded. | Indefinite | Limitations, prohibitions, and differences in the market access treatments are applied on the basis of reciprocity with respect to States maintaining similar measures in respect of the Russian carriers and/or means of transport. |
ANNEX 3. TO PROTOCOL No. 1 BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM, OF THE ONE PART, AND THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION AND ITS MEMBER STATES, OF THE OTHER PART. LIST OF RESERVATIONS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION UNDER SECTION III (ESTABLISHMENT, COMMERCIAL PRESENCE AND ACTIVITIES) OF CHAPTER 8 (TRADE IN SERVICES, INVESTMENT AND MOVEMENT OF NATURAL PERSONS) OF THE AGREEMENT
1. The Russian Federation undertakes the commitment not to maintain or introduce limitations inconsistent with Article 8.21 (National Treatment), Article 8.23 (Market Access), Article 8.24 (Performance Requirements) and Article 8.25 (Senior Management and Board of Directors) of Section III (Establishment, Commercial Presence and Activities) of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services, Investment and Movement of Natural Persons) of the Agreement apart from the reservations stipulated in this List of Reservations.
2. Nothing in this List of reservations affects rights and obligations of the Russian Federation in Annex 4 (Schedule of Specific Commitments of the Russian Federation under the Section IV (Movement of Natural Persons) in respect of entry, stay and movement of natural persons.
1. Sector: Professional services
Sub-sector: Legal services
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Senior Management and Board of Directors
Source of Measure: Law No.4462-1 of February 11, 1993 "Fundamental Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries"
Description: Only citizens of the Russian Federation may work as notaries, junior notaries and assistant notaries.
A notary chamber, notary office may be established only in the relevant subject of the Russian Federation by notaries - citizens of the Russian Federation.
2. Sector: Professional services
Sub-sector: Legal services
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Senior Management and Board of Directors
Source of Measure: Civil Code of the Russian Federation
Description: Only a citizen of the Russian Federation may be registered as a patent attorney.
3. Sector: Financial services
Sub-sector: Insurance services
Obligations Concerned: National Treatment, Market Access
Source of Measure: Federal Law No. 4015-1 of November 27, 1992 "On the Organization of Insurance Business in the Russian Federation"
Description: Insurance companies that are subsidiaries of foreign investors (principal organizations) or in which foreign participation in the charter capital exceeds 49%, cannot provide life insurance, health insurance and insurance of property of citizens paid for by funds allocated for these purposes from the relevant budget to federal executive bodies (policy holders), insurance related to the procurement of goods, works and services for State and municipal needs, as well as insurance of property interests of State organizations and municipal organizations in the Russian Federation.
Insurance companies that are subsidiaries of foreign investors (principal organizations) or in which foreign participation in the charter capital exceeds 51%, also cannot provide insurance of property interests related to survival of citizens to a certain age or term or occurrence of other events in the life of citizens, as well as to their death, and mandatory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners in the Russian Federation.
An insurance company that is a subsidiary of a foreign investor (principal organization) or in which foreign participation in the charter capital exceeds 49%, has the right to conduct insurance business in the Russian Federation if the foreign investor (principal organization) has been an insurance company operating in accordance with the legislation of the respective State for no less than 5 years.
The legislation of the Russian Federation limits the ratio (quota) of total foreign participation in the total charter capital of insurance companies at 50%. Information about the ratio (quota) of foreign participation in insurance companies, the introduction or termination of limitations on foreign investment provided for in subparagraphs five and seven of this paragraph shall be published in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
If the ratio (quota) of total foreign participation in the total charter capital of insurance companies exceeds 50%, the supervisory authority stops issuing licenses to conduct insurance business to insurance companies that are subsidiaries of foreign investors (principal organizations) or in which foreign participation in the charter capital exceeds 49%,
An insurance company shall be required to obtain prior authorization from the supervisory authority to increase the size of its charter capital at the expense of foreign investors and (or) their subsidiaries, to alienate their shares (stakes in charter capital)in favor of foreign investors (including for purchase by foreign investors), and Russian shareholders (participants) shall be required to obtain prior authorization from the supervisory authority to alienate their shares (stakes in charter capital) of the insurance company in favor of foreign investors and (or) their subsidiaries.
If the ratio (quota) of total foreign participation in the total charter capital of insurance companies is exceeded, the supervisory authority refuses prior authorization to insurance companies that are subsidiaries of foreign investors (principal organizations) or in which foreign participation in the charter capital exceeds 49% or that become such as a result of said transactions.
Foreign investors shall pay for their shares (stakes in charter capital) in insurance companies exclusively in monetary form in the currency of the Russian Federation. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, insurance companies having obtained their licenses to conduct insurance business prior to Russia's accession to the WTO shall continue to operate in accordance with the terms on which the license was issued.