Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment: TPP is an opportunity for Vietnam to protect the environment

At the workshop on Assessing the Impact of TPP on Vietnam's environmental legal system organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on September 14, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said that by participating in TPP, Vietnam will gain great benefits in economic, political and social aspects. However, Vietnam is also expected to face huge challenges because its economic development level is at the lowest level among the 12 member countries, while the commitments of the TPP Agreement are much higher than previously signed trade agreements.

Mr. Nhan said: “TPP is the first trade agreement that makes environmental commitments in addition to traditional commitments on trade and investment.”

Mr. Nhan said that the environmental commitments in the TPP Agreement are quite wide in scope, including many sectors and fields under the state management functions of a number of different ministries and branches such as: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (related to biodiversity, invasive alien species, climate change, marine environmental protection, environmental goods and services), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (related to seafood fishing, wildlife trade), Ministry of Transport loading (preventing pollution from ships)…

"The commitments in the TPP Agreement not only aim at deep and broad trade liberalization but also aim at achieving the goal of environmental protection towards sustainable development with efforts to perfect the environmental legal system as well as enforce these regulations at the highest level without hindering trade between countries. To have a mechanism to effectively implement TPP commitments, the Agreement also stipulates the establishment of an Environmental Committee to help monitor the implementation of environmental commitments; establish a mechanism to effectively implement TPP commitments, resolve environmental disputes,” Mr. Nhan said.

It is known that to implement the TPP Agreement and the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has decided to establish a Working Group to implement commitments on natural resources and environment in the TPP Agreement and EVFTA Agreement (the Department of Legal Affairs is the focal point of the Ministry).

Recently, the Legal Department has reviewed commitments on natural resources and the environment in the TPP Agreement; Organize an assessment of the impact of the TPP Agreement on Vietnam's legal system on natural resources and environment and propose amendments and supplements to legal documents to implement the TPP Agreement and the EVFTA Agreement.

Mr. Nhan said that fully implementing environmental commitments in the TPP Agreement is not only fulfilling obligations but also an opportunity for Vietnam to continue strengthening environmental management and protection. First of all, perfecting the environmental legal system, promoting compliance and enforcement of environmental laws, thereby contributing to the common efforts of the international community in environmental protection.

The TPP Agreement was signed by 12 countries in the Pacific region on February 4 this year and is currently in the process of internal ratification in member countries. It is expected that the Vietnamese National Assembly will approve this content at its meeting later this year.

Source: Saigon Economic Times