Vietnamese exporters want importers to be more transparent about the trade measures that affect exports from Viet Nam of sustainable biodiversity-based goods, worth $100 million per year.
Survey results have found that in addition to pesticides and chemical residues, non-tariff measures (NTMs) that hold back exports from Viet Nam include measures to target packaging and labelling standards.
"These barriers are legitimate when they protect endangered species or human, animal and plant life," said Bonapas Onguglo, acting Head of UNCTAD's Trade Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development department.
"But it is important to have transparent information about the NTMs on sustainable biodiversity-based goods, so that governments can address them with better regulations," he said, soon after a 23-24 June workshop in Hanoi to discuss the survey findings.
The workshop was organized by UNCTAD and the BioTrade Implementation Group of Viet Nam, with support from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
Attended by over 40 representatives from government, the private sector, and civil society, the workshop addressed NTMs on a range of products including personal care, food and pharmaceuticals to markets such as China, the European Union, Japan, Switzerland and the United States.
BioTrade contributes successfully to Switzerland's foreign development aims by combining social responsibility and environmental sustainability with economic growth while supporting partner countries to integrate into the world economy, SECO says.
The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity fits with Goal 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), and will be discussed in a special session on 19 July at UNCTAD 14, in Nairobi, Kenya, from 17-22 July 2016.
In August 2016, UNCTAD will hold similar workshops in Colombia and Peru.
