|
Official rejects VN’s violations of WTO price policy
Finance Ministry Circular 122/2010/TT-BTC does not break any of Vietnam's price commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said an official.
Director of the ministry’s Price Management Department, Nguyen Tien Thoa, said the document strictly adheres to the Government Decree 75/2008/ND-CP of June 9, 2008, which defines milk as an essential commodity and its prices should be stabilised. It amends and supplements the previous Circular 104 to prevent unreasonable price hikes on imported powdered milk.
The Finance Ministry did not promulgate any new policy, Thoa stressed.
Circular 122, which will take effect on October 1, stipulates that importers and traders must register and report prices of powdered milk for children under six years old to the price management agency.
The Finance Ministry’s explanation followed feedback from several foreign-invested milk companies and the ambassadors of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the European Union.
In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Fiance, the ambassadors said the new price controls would affect Vietnam’s efforts to move towards a market economy as well as its compliance with of WTO regulations.
It could also hamper the attraction of foreign investment and development of the labour market, the diplomats said.
vov
|
