Prevention of disputes and frauds in international trade

Accordingly, in order to share experiences with the business community after the case of cashew nut containers happened in Italy, on the afternoon of August 23, the Vietnam Federation of Trade and Industry (VCCI) coordinated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize an event. Workshop: “Prevention of disputes and frauds in international trade”.

Sharing at the seminar, a representative of the VCCI Legal Department said that global businesses lose about 5% of their revenue each year because of fraud. The average value of a scam is $1.7 million. The percentage of businesses that said they were victims of fraud and economic crimes in the 2 years before the time of the survey was as follows: 49% in 2018; 47% in 2020 and 46% in 2022. Regarding fraud classification, there are 43% from outside, 31% from inside, and 26% collusion between inside and outside.

On the Vietnamese side, 52% of PwC survey respondents from Vietnam said they experienced fraud or other economic crime in the 2 years before the time of the survey. This figure is higher than the average 46% of the Asia Pacific region and the global level of 49%.

Vietnamese businesses have not focused on anti-fraud measures, not many Vietnamese businesses want to report to the State management agency. The reason is that they do not trust state agencies, do not trust the professional capacity of state agencies, and fear that information will be leaked to the public.

According to Mr. Dau Anh Tuan – Deputy Secretary General, Head of the VCCI Legal Department, when Vietnam integrates more deeply, Vietnamese businesses do business with more partners, go to a wider playing field, and the rules of the game. different, the risk of disputes and fraud is also greater and more complicated. The scams and disputes that businesses often face are due to the lack of conditions to thoroughly check the partners, the choice of inappropriate payment methods, and possibly the calculated bets from the partners in the business. contracts in which Vietnamese enterprises do not have much experience.

What questions and solutions are there for Vietnamese enterprises to do international business safely and effectively? Mr. Dau Anh Tuan said that “first” enterprises must complete themselves, and have good human resources, good apparatus, and a good risk management system. In addition, businesses must have an information network, and regularly contact Vietnamese trade agencies and professional support and legal service organizations in using legal services.

“Profit business must be calculated when the risk. Safety and reliability always come at a cost. This is something that seems obvious and simple, but not all businesses in Vietnam can do it,” shared Mr. Dau Anh Tuan.

Also sharing at the seminar, Mr. Bach Khanh Nhut – Standing Vice Chairman of Vietnam Cashew Association said, “After more than 5 months, up to now, the case of Vietnamese enterprises being deceived to export cashew nuts to Italy has been solved. Basic treatment success. From the risk of losing dozens of containers, worth hundreds of billions of dong, Vietnamese exporters have not lost a single container to fraudsters even though they have appropriated nearly 40 sets of original documents of nearly 40 containers.

“Achieving the above results first of all thanks to the timely and drastic direction of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; the active and prompt participation of relevant ministries and branches to handle the case according to their functions and tasks. Especially the great efforts of the Embassy of Vietnam, the Vietnam Trade Office, and the permanent agency of Vietnam News Agency in Italy. Those efforts have made the Italian public authorities see the seriousness of the case and prison and jointly participate in supporting the settlement and protection of the “legitimate” rights of Vietnamese businesses, promoting Italian security agencies work together to bring the group of scammers to the dock, as Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi confirmed with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in a phone call on April 20,” Nhut shared.

The representative of the Vietnam Cashew Association also said that the reason leading to businesses being deceived was that they trusted too much in the brokerage company and did not check partner information. During the difficult time of the epidemic, having large orders, businesses want to sell goods; especially at a time when there are few transactions in the market. Along with that, the payment method is risky.

From the reality of the Cashew Association, in order to support businesses, and prevent disputes, and frauds in international trade, Mr. Ngo Khac Le – Arbitrator of Vietnam International Arbitration Center, Deputy Secretary General of Business Association According to Vietnam Logistics Service, businesses should appoint a reputable international bank in the importing country to collect money, endorse the bill of lading, the additional cost is negligible compared to the value of the shipment to ensure safety.

Along with that, according to Mr. Le, businesses should be more cautious with new partners trading for the first time, they need to learn and thoroughly investigate traders to have the highest safety. Enterprises should also actively send their business registration before to their partners to have a basis for asking them to submit business registration and consider this as a normal thing when transacting, thereby knowing the partner’s information.

In addition, businesses can learn about partners through the help of Vietnamese embassies and trade deals in the host country. Partner selection is almost a decisive step for import-export businesses, and reputable and long-term partners, whether the price increases or decreases, still maintain the contract.

“Enterprises should use arbitration to resolve disputes instead of the Court as the businesses, in this case, have agreed in the contract to be flexible and quick when things happen. At the same time, coordinate closely and quickly with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad as in this case to limit or avoid damage,” Le emphasized.

According to Mr. Tran Thanh Hai – Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), in international trade activities, a similar incident can also happen. Therefore, in order to limit risks like the recent case, it is very important for businesses to equip themselves when entering the integration process; In which, there are things that need to be thoroughly understood by customers and partners before conducting transactions…

According to Business Forum Manazige Enternews (Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry)