“Towards building social norms within the WTO framework”

Workshop “Towards building social norms within the WTO framework” organized by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) - Federal Republic of Germany on November 13, 2009.

Delegates at the workshop discussed the main contents: why is it necessary to build social norms (CMXH) within the framework of the WTO? How should the WTO build social norms to achieve higher operational efficiency? What changes will Vietnam have to make to meet WTO standards? How will participation in the world's common social norms affect Vietnam's development in all aspects?

Author Tran Bach Hieu (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) gives a definition of the WTO's social revolution: "the principles and standards on environment, labor, health, safety, prosperity, democracy, freedom, equality as well as the openness, transparency, and effectiveness of the WTO for global trade and global society, according to which all its members comply with and implement". Based on the analysis of practical and urgent reasons leading to the need to consider building common standards, some solutions that the author gives to make the WTO operate more effectively are: need to build the above standards according to the principle of caution; carry out reforms of principles and procedures in the WTO; have a dialogue mechanism with those who want to speak about trade and open up the dispute settlement process; conduct trade liberalization negotiations in order; end the competition between many countries on tariff preferences; separate the settlement of trade issues in the WTO from other issues...

Professor Dr. Hermann Sautter (Germany) considers social norms as an important factor, an indispensable component of the international economic and social order and proves it through a series of laws and major historical events that have occurred in human history. He said: “Ensuring social norms is not only an effective means to implement social justice but also a constitutional goal. Absolute respect for social norms is also a good strategy to maintain the country's trade policy advantage”.

Author Tong Van Chung (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) discussed in depth the system of standards that Vietnamese enterprises must understand and follow when participating in the international trade market based on a careful analysis of the basic provisions regulating the role of enterprises when participating in WTO trade activities. The author believes that: "In the context of integration, the social standards of enterprises are actions to meet the requirements of partners at all levels within the framework of their cooperation".

The paper “Building intellectual property standards according to WTO regulations” by Dr. Tran Van Hai (University of Social Sciences and Humanities) mentioned the need to build a common, unified system of standards in Vietnam in accordance with WTO regulations, in a new but very important field of world trade, the field of intellectual property, specifically in two aspects: standards in copyright enforcement and standards in intellectual property management.

Discussing the impact of trade liberalization in services within the WTO framework on Vietnamese society, Dr. Ha Van Hoi (University of Economics, VNU) commented: “Vietnam joined the WTO in a context where the competitiveness of the economy was not high. In that context, trade liberalization in services brought both opportunities and challenges, affecting all aspects of social life. Vietnam needs to clearly recognize these impacts to proactively take advantage of opportunities, overcome difficulties and gradually improve social standards in the WTO.”

Some other reports analyze the impact of economic integration on the formation of business standards of Vietnamese enterprises, standards on corporate social responsibility and the role of managers, the impact on education and training activities as well as the formation of cultural and social behaviors of young people...