Origin Criteria for Goods: Key to Elevating Vietnamese Brands

In the context of deep global integration, increasingly complex supply chains, and sophisticated origin fraud, determining a product's origin is no longer just an administrative procedure. It has become a core competitive strategy to protect Vietnamese brands, create a fair playing field, and strengthen consumer trust.

Why the Domestic Market Needs Origin Criteria

For many years, Vietnam's rules of origin primarily served exports under FTAs. For goods circulating domestically, a legal vacuum has allowed many products of unclear origin to "wear the mantle" of Vietnamese goods. The consequences are:

• Consumers find it difficult to distinguish a genuine "Made in Vietnam" product, making them susceptible to buying fake or low-quality goods.
• Reputable businesses have to compete with products that undergo only a few simple stages, such as packaging or labeling.
• The credibility of "Made in Vietnam" is eroded right at home.

Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's move to finalize a set of criteria for "products of Vietnam/produced in Vietnam" for domestic use is a foundational step: it cleanses the market, protects consumers, and elevates the national brand.

The Origin Criteria Framework: A Strategic Foundation for Businesses

The new criteria are expected to reference international standards while being adjusted to suit Vietnam's specific conditions. The core principles include:

• Wholly Obtained Origin: The product is entirely produced in Vietnam.
• Substantial Processing: The product achieves a certain level of change in its HS code (CC/CTH/CTSH) or reaches a minimum domestic value content (RVC) ratio.

Note: The specific RVC threshold may vary by industry; many frameworks reference a level of around 30% or more, but businesses should monitor the official regulations when they are issued.

• Exclusion of Simple Processes: Operations like packaging, washing, sorting, and labeling are not sufficient to confer Vietnamese origin.

Businesses should proactively get ahead of this trend:

• Legal Compliance, Reduced Risk: Products certified with the correct origin reduce the risk of being fined or removed from distribution systems.
• Brand Enhancement: Transparent origin helps increase consumer trust and loyalty, especially for food, fast-moving consumer goods, fashion, and pharmaceutical-cosmetic products.
• Leveraging International Benefits: Being compatible with the global rules system makes it easier to utilize FTAs and expand exports.
• Optimizing Competitive Advantage: This prevents unfair competition, promotes localization, and fosters deeper integration into the supply chains of multinational corporations.

As Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang - Director of the WTO and Integration Center (VCCI) - stated, this will be "an important technical barrier to prevent origin fraud, and at the same time, strengthen consumer confidence in Vietnamese goods".

GCheck: The Solution for Traceability and Origin Transparency

For origin criteria to work effectively, they must be paired with a reliable traceability system. This is where technology proves its power. GCheck - an electronic authentication stamp developed by the Ministry of Public Security in collaboration with the technology company CyberTech - is being implemented under Project 06, adhering to international GS1 standards and current legal frameworks.

Product images of Camlamonline with GCheck label

GCheck offers businesses:

✅ Complete Product Journey Transparency: Information about the manufacturer, raw material batches, processing stages, and inspections is digitized; consumers can simply scan a code to check.

✅ Clear Origin Verification: Traceability data helps businesses cross-reference against origin criteria, creating a reliable file for market checks or partner interactions.

✅ Increased Trust and Anti-Counterfeiting: The electronic authentication stamp helps limit counterfeiting; each scan is a validation of the brand's reputation.

✅ Flexible Implementation: It is compatible with the GS1 barcode system and can be integrated with ERP/QR traceability systems, making it convenient for both large enterprises and SMEs.

???? Investing in traceability is not just about meeting regulations. It's a sustainable competitive advantage: businesses win through transparency, consumers choose based on trust, and partners prioritize based on standardized data.

Conclusion

The new origin criteria for the domestic market are a foundation for cleaning up the market and elevating Vietnamese brands. Businesses that proactively standardize origin and digitize traceability will gain a leading advantage. By combining transparent criteria with technology like GCheck, the journey from "doing well" to "being trusted" will be significantly shortened - and that is the decisive difference in an era where competition is driven by trust.