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New tariffs aim to cut trade deficit
Raising tariffs without violating WTO commitments and thorough border checks are among measures suggested by Deputy Minister of Finance Do Hoang Anh Tuan to reduce imports and ease the mounting trade deficit.
The deficit topped US$13 billion last year with consumer products accounting for a part, he said, noting that mobile phone imports alone were worth $1 billion.
"We imported products that can be grown and processed domestically – like corn, sweet potato, carrot, and even bamboo toothpicks."
Where WTO commitments allow, his ministry will raise tariffs.
"We can apply 20 to 30 per cent tax on pork and beef for example", Tuan said.
But the country would not disregard its WTO commitments by erecting technical barriers to check the imports, he assured.
"We will only resort to measures allowed by international standards".
Without elaborating how the ministry planned to control import of air-conditioners, he said tariffs on them had already reached the ceiling.
"However, in the long term, we should enhance the competitiveness of our manufacturers.
"The Ministries of Health and Agriculture and Rural Development should beef up their presence and invest in better equipment at border checkpoints".
"We should try to create stable jobs for people living along the border so that they will not be paid to transport goods from other countries into Viet Nam," he said.
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