BY FRANCESCO GUARASCIO
HANOI — Vietnam is stepping up its fight against counterfeits and digital piracy after the United States accused the country of being a major hub for these illegal activities and threatened crippling tariffs, documents reviewed by Reuters show.
Among products that are subject to increased inspections at borders to ascertain their authenticity are luxury goods from Prada and Gucci owner Kering, electronic devices made by Google and Samsung, and toys from Mattel and Lego, according to a document dated April 1 from the customs department of the finance ministry.
Consumer goods such as shampoos and razors sold by Procter & Gamble and Johnson and Johnson products are also included in the list, the document showed.
The crackdown focuses on imported counterfeits, not those that could be made in Vietnam, which are also of concern to the administration of US President Donald Trump.
A clampdown on the use of counterfeit software is also underway, according to a warning from inspectors at the Ministry of Culture sent on April 14 to a local company, whose name was redacted from the document seen by Reuters.
The letter, it says, followed a complaint from the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the industry’s global trade association, whose members include Microsoft, Oracle and Adobe.
A person familiar with the matter said similar letters have been sent to dozens of companies since the start of April.
Vietnam’s finance and culture ministries and the customs department did not reply to requests for comment, nor did any of the mentioned companies.
A spokesperson for BSA said it has for years urged Vietnam to monitor and take action against the unauthorised use of software.
Vietnam’s recent moves are part of an array of measures taken or pledged by the Southeast Asian export-reliant industrial hub to persuade the Trump administration to reconsider punitive tariffs. Vietnam faces duties of 46 percent on exports to the US, its largest market, if confirmed in July after a global pause.
Vietnam and the US began informal talks to avoid tariffs well before Trump announced global “reciprocal” duties on April 2.
Enhanced protection of intellectual property, including the fight against counterfeits and digital piracy, is among the issues being discussed with the US in ongoing tariff talks.
Also under discussion are the reduction of Vietnam’s big trade surplus, the fight against trade fraud such as illegal transshipment, and lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers for US businesses, according to a person briefed on the matter.
