Speaking when the National Assembly Standing Committee gave opinions on the reception, explanation, and revision of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations dated June 3, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man said that the draft law is still in many overlaps, long-term and "blind".
In particular, the National Assembly Chairman cited that when the problem of counterfeit, counterfeit, and poor quality goods occurs, no agency is primarily responsible. Therefore, when promulgating this law, the responsibilities of the National Assembly, the Government, and related ministries and branches must be clearly understood to be handled.
The request of the National Assembly Chairman is a prerequisite for the law to truly come into life. Counterfeit goods will not have land to live if the legal system is strict enough.
However, in reality, technical standards that should be the first protective barrier against counterfeit goods are becoming a fragile shell, easily penetrated by the lack of responsibility between ministries and branches.
It is easy to see that every time an incident related to counterfeit goods, counterfeit goods... occurs, one Ministry says "not under its authority", the other Ministry says "not enough basis", while people and businesses are left behind in a spiral of losing confidence.
Therefore, the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations, after being amended, as required by the National Assembly Chairman, is to "clearly understand responsibilities". That is, it is impossible to have many ministries have the same responsibility without anyone taking specific responsibility.
If there is no single agency responsible for product quality management and post-inspection control, then no matter how many more regulations, counterfeit goods will still have a place to hide.
Finally, a law like the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations, to be effective, not only needs to be regulated correctly, but also needs to increase transparency, feasibility and ensure the substantial participation of businesses in the process of developing and applying standards and regulations.
Enterprises, as complying people, must have a voice in the process of law making to work with the authorities to build a risk control mechanism, reduce the burden of costs as well as close down loopholes that create negative behavior.
However, at the same time, the law must also tie the responsibilities of management agencies with independent monitoring mechanisms, avoiding the situation of "both issuance, management and inspection" in a closed system.
To fight counterfeit goods and poor quality goods in a fundamental way, we cannot only rely on punishment after the violation has occurred but also wait for someone to take primary responsibility as before. Instead, it is necessary to start from building a clear institution of responsibility, transparency of procedures and a clear understanding of the role of each subject in the legal system.
By doing this, counterfeit goods will not only have no land to sell, but the trust of people and businesses in management agencies will also be firmly restored.
