Nguyen Kim Hung, VIDEM Director (Photo: VOV)

Reporter: How was the Vietnam-EU e-commerce platform created?

Mr. Hung: E-commerce is playing a greater role in global trade, with a total transaction value of about 1.7 trillion USD last year, created by business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) platforms. But in Vietnam, e-commerce has totaled less than 16 billion USD, mainly from B2C platforms. There are few B2B platforms to help Vietnamese businesses conduct transactions abroad. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has made us realize the long-held dream of a B2B cross-border e-commerce platform. A major goal of the B2B marketplace is to help SMEs, individual business households, and craft villages conduct direct transactions with trading partners in Europe. The development of a home-grown platform is in line with the Prime Minister's Decision 749 on digital transformation to boost trade between Vietnam and other countries around the world.

Reporter: How does VEFTA differ from other e-commerce platforms?

Mr. Hung: What makes the VEFTA platform different is that it’s deployed like a highway with branches which are smaller commercial floors set up by provinces. Every province now has a resolution on digital transformation in which e-commerce is the key. The VEFTA e-commerce platform has an ecosystem with smaller e-commerce platforms which can be used to conduct full-fledged international transactions. For example, it’s very difficult to associate a business’s logistics with e-invoices or cross-border payments. The VEFTA platform’s ecosystem makes that work easier, so Vietnam’s localities can start selling their OCOP products abroad.

Reporter: The EU is a very demanding market. How does this e-commerce platform deal with the EU’s strict standards for product quality and other requirements?

Mr. Hung: There are many modules in the ecosystem of the B2B e-commerce platform, including origin traceability and goods quality control from the start. That means once an order is placed, production and processing standards and coordination with European standards and requirements are set out for the producers and processors to follow. The requirements are integrated into the business logistics of order fulfillment. We hope that, in about 3 years, we’ll have completed the ecosystem so that buyers in Europe can track in detail the progress of their order and make sure all conditions are being met.

Reporter: What are requirements for businesses to do their transactions on the new e-commerce platform?

Mr, Hung: The platform is designed for every economic enterprise – from individual business households to big companies and conglomerates – to use. It's a platform focused on business-to-business connections. There are no barriers. But in order to export to, and conduct smooth transactions with, the EU, businesses need to participate in a program that ensures their products meet the EU’s post-production requirements and are packaged pursuant to EU standards. This means that after delivering the goods, businesses must still fully comply with the platform’s regulations. This is what domestic businesses need to pay great attention to.