DECISION

APPROVING THE STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT OF VIETNAMS TEXTILE AND GARMENT INDUSTRY TILL 2015 AND ORIENTATIONS TO 2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
At the proposal of the Minister of Industry and Trade,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the strategy on development of Vietnams textile and garment industry till 2015 and orientations to 2020, with the following principal contents:

I. DEVELOPMENT VIEWPOINTS

1. To develop the textile and garment industry towards specialization and modernization, aiming to create a breakthrough in both the quality and quantity of products. To create conditions for the industry to develop in a rapid, stable, sustainable and efficient manner. To redress weaknesses of the industry such as unpopular brand names of enterprises, improper attention to fashion designs, underdeveloped support industries, insufficient and untimely supply of raw and auxiliary materials.

2. To regard export as a development objective, expand export markets and, at the same time, develop to the utmost the domestic market. To concentrate on the development of support industrial products and production of raw and auxiliary products, reduce trade deficit and increase the added value of textile and garment products.

3. To develop the textile and garment industry while protecting the environment and restructuring agricultural labor in rural areas. To relocate polluting establishments to industrial parks and clusters for environmental treatment. To relocate intensive-labor textile and garment enterprises to rural areas and, at the same time, develop markets for Vietnamese textile and garment fashions in urban centers and big cities.

4. To diversify forms of ownership and types of enterprise in the textile and garment industry, promote all domestic and foreign resources for investment in the development of the industry. To attach importance to calling for foreign investment in the domains in which domestic investors are still incapable and inexperienced.

5. To quantitatively and qualitatively develop human resources for sustainable development of Vietnams textile and garment industry, attaching importance to training managers, technicians and skilled workers, in order to build a contingent of good entrepreneurs, specialized officials and skilled workers.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. Overall objectives

To develop textiles and garments into a key and spearhead export industry; increasingly meet domestic consumption demands; to create many jobs for society; and raise the industrys competitiveness and steady integration into regional and world economies.

2. Specific objectives

The strategy's major targets are as follows:

III. DEVELOPMENT ORIENTATIONS

1. Products

a/To develop, and raise the competitiveness of, exported garments in order to make full use of market opportunities. To increase the rate of localization for a higher efficiency of garments production and export. To attach importance to fashion designing, turn out textiles and garments with highly distinctive features, step by step build brand names for enterprises. To speed up the application of quality management standards to meet integration requirements in the textile and garment industry. To rapidly increase the output of textiles and garments, meeting export and domestic consumption demands.

b/ To call for domestic and foreign investment in manufacturing synthetic fibers, raw and auxiliary materials, substitute accessories and support products for textile and garment enterprises.

c/ To formulate a program on manufacturing fabrics for export. Vietnam Textile and Garment Group shall play a core role in the implementation of this program.

d/ To formulate a program on cotton tree development, attaching importance to establishing irrigated cotton-growing areas in order to increase die productivity and quality of Vietnamese cotton fibers supplied to the textile industry.

2. Production investment and development

a/ For garment enterprises:

To step by step relocate production establishments to localities with available rural labor and convenient transport. To build fashion centers, model research and design units, and raw and auxiliary material-supplying and trade centers in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minn City and other big cities.

b/ For fiber, textile, dyeing and fabric finishing enterprises:

To build specialized textile and garment industrial parks and clusters with adequate infrastructure for electricity and water supply and wastewater treatment up to environmental standards prescribed by the State. To relocate dyeing and textile establishments to and build new ones in industrial parks and clusters for treating wastewater and properly dealing with environmental pollution.

c/ To build specialized areas for irrigated cotton growing in localities with appropriate land, soil and climate conditions in order to raise the yield, productivity and quality of cotton fibers.

3. Environmental protection

a/ To make an environmental impact assessment report in accordance with this strategy and the law on environment.

b/To thoroughly handle establishments which cause serious environmental pollution. To build textile and garment industrial parks and clusters with wastewater treatment systems up to environmental standards for receiving relocated polluting textile and garment establishments.

c/ To implement a program on cleaner production in the textile and garment industry, encourage enterprises to apply environment management standard ISO 14000, and create a good working environment for laborers according to standard SA 8000.

d/ To build and implement a roadmap of renewing textile and garment technologies to become friendly to the environment.

e/ To enhance the capacity of scientific and technological research on the environment.

f/ To meet environmental and technical-barrier requirements for international economic integration.

IV. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

1. Investment solutions

a/ To encourage all domestic and foreign economic sectors to invest in the development of the textile and garment industry to meet domestic and export demands.

b/ To formulate investment projects on textile, dyeing, production of cotton fibers and artificial fibers, and production of raw and auxiliary materials for attracting domestic and foreign investors, giving precedence to projects on manufacturing shuttle-woven fabrics for making garments for export.

c/ To build specialized textile and garment industrial parks with adequate infrastructure for electricity and water supply and wastewater treatment, meeting requirements on the environment and trained labor.

d/ To coordinate with localities in investing in cotton tree development, attaching importance to establishing irrigated cotton growing areas, step by step meeting cotton demands of textile and yam industries.

2. Human resource development solutions

To implement a program on training human resources for the textile and garment industry with the following contents:

a/ Organizing courses for training econo-technical managers, legal officials, and sale officials in the textile and garment industry, and technicians and skilled workers for key textile and dyeing projects.

b/ Organizing training courses on fabric designing and analysis, production management skills, sale skills (including designing, patterning and sale skills, and knowledge about raw-material, product, environmental and labor standards). ;

c/ Cooperating with international organizations to send officials and students to overseas courses for training managers, legal officials, technicians, sale officials, and skilled technical workers.

d/ Combining long-term training with short-term training, full-time training with in-service training, domestic training with overseas training.

e/ Consolidating and expanding the specialized textile and garment training system, and establishing a Textile. Garment and Fashion University to conduct training courses.

f/ Regularly organizing courses for providing collegial- and secondary-degree training and training workers at professional textile and garment schools in order to supply adequate human resources for the textile and garment industry. The Vietnam Textile and Garment Association and Vietnam Textile and Garment Group are primarily responsible for coordinating and cooperating with domestic and foreign training institutions to implement the program on training human resources for the textile and garment industry.

3. Science and technology solutions

a/ To reorganize textile and garment research institutes towards autonomy and accountability.

- Raising research institutes capacity of consultancy, research and development, technology transfer, designing and patterning.

- Supporting textile and garment enterprises to step up research and development of technical advances, technology transfer, and raising of their production capacity.

b/ To research and apply new technologies and materials for turning out textiles with distinctive features, implement programs on cleaner production, energy conservation, application of software to designing, and management of the production and quality of textiles and garments.

c/ To formulate standards and technical regulations for textiles and garments in conformity and harmony with the law on standards and technical regulations and international practice. To support the upgrading of centers for verification and inspection of the quality of textiles and garments,, and support textile and garment enterprises in managing quality and dealing with technical barriers.

d/To build a textile and garment eco-laboratory and a fabric development center during 2008-2010.

e/To build a textile and garment database and raise the website quality.

f/ To study and adopt policies to encourage and promote technology transfer in the textile and garment industry.

4. Market solutions

a/ To take advantage of all possibilities and opportunities to negotiate on the expansion of Vietnams international textile and garment markets.

b/ To reform administrative procedures in taxation, customs, import and export by applying one-stamp and one-stop shop mechanism and simplifying procedures.

c/ To enhance market inspection and control, combat smuggling, tax evasion and trade fraud.

d/ To enhance international trade law consultancy. To properly prepare exporting enterprises for dealing with new technical barriers created by importing countries.

e/To organize a domestic retail network, renew export marketing methods and, at the same time, pay attention to building and advertising brand names of products and building the image of Vietnams textile and garment industry in domestic and international markets.

f/To assign adequate legal officials for textile and garment enterprises to participate in making and negotiating contracts, especially international trade contracts, and settling disputes.

5. Solutions on supply of raw and auxiliary materials

a/ To build centers for supplying raw and auxiliary materials in Hanoi city, Ho Chi Minn City and other big cities in a timely manner for textile and garment enterprises.

b/To set up enterprises trading in high-quality raw and auxiliary materials with reasonable import prices to meet textile and garment enterprises needs.

6. Financial solutions

a/ Capital for development investment

For its development investment, Vietnams textile and garment industry will raise capital from domestic and foreign economic sectors in the form of business cooperation, joint venture, business association, equitization of enterprises, or setting up enterprises with 100% foreign capital. To encourage enterprises to raise capital via the securities market (issuance of bonds, shares or international bonds) or get commercial loans with or without the Governments guarantee.

b/ Funding for research, human resource training and environmental treatment

The State shall provide pan of state budget funds for textile and garment research institutes and training schools in order to increase material foundations, carry out research activities and train human resources for the textile and garment industry in accordance with Vietnams international commitments.

The State shall provide textile and garment enterprises with state credit capital, ODA and the environmental funds capital for the implementation of environmental treatment projects.

Article 2. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, branches and provincial/municipal Peoples Committees in, implementing this strategy, specifically as follows:

a/ To formulate, verify and approve a planning on development of the textile and garment industry till 2015 and orientations to 2020.

b/ To coordinate with ministries, branches and localities in formulating and approving a program on manufacturing fabrics for export, a program on cotton tree development and a program on training textile and garment human resources.

c/ To coordinate with concerned ministries and branches and localities in implementing the strategy and the planning.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in, supporting the attraction of foreign investment and guiding investment procedures for the implementation of the strategy and the planning.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Indusuy and Trade in, formulating financial mechanisms and policies to support the implementation of the program on manufacturing fabrics for export, the program on cotton tree development and the program on training textile and garment human resources.

4. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in. formulating and implementing a planning on development of irrigated cotton-growing areas, ensuring the supply of cotton raw-materials for the textile industry.

5. The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in, formulating mechanisms and policies to support training, development and stabilization of textile and garment human resources.

6. The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association in guiding and advising textile and garment enterprises to settle disputes under international trade contracts.

7. Provincial/municipal Peoples Committees shall provide supports in terms of land fund, carry out land-related and ground clearance procedures for fast implementation of textile and garment projects.

Article 3.This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in CONG BAO.

Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, presidents of provincial/municipal Peoples Committees, and concerned organizations and individuals shall implement this Decision.