To finish up the rather long review of data privacy regulations in e-commerce, including data localitzation and cybersecurity issues, I thought I would share our overview we prepared of relevant commitments in these areas in international agreements to which Vietnam has recently become a member. Without looking at every bilateral treaty, we have reviewed the [...]
This article briefly examines some of the advantages and disadvantages for Vietnam in the RCEP, a multilateral FTA that was signed yesterday in Hanoi, Vietnam. Yesterday, 15 November 2020, fifteen Asia-Pacific nations signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, a multi-lateral free trade agreement. The signing comes as the crowning achievement of Vietnam's chairmanship [...]
Last week, the United States State Department put on its third Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Hanoi. Countries from all over the region attended both online and in person. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in attendance. During the forum, several deals were announced. This article will discuss the big deals signed between US and [...]
I was going to write about selling alcohol this week, but over the weekend broke news that the Trump administration in the US has initiated a currency manipulation investigation against Vietnam, see article here. While this isn't something about which to worry terribly much in the hands of a country determined to abide by its [...]
Last week I wrote about the freedom of contract in Vietnam, here, and only briefly touched on an important international convention which Vietnam acceded to a few years ago. The Vienna Convention for the International Sale of Goods, or CISG for short, is an important set of rules for anyone buying goods from Vietnamese producers, [...]
A recent Linkedin post alerted me to a crackdown on foreign land ownership. It linked to an article in the local press about Chinese investors buying land in Da Nang through "various ruses." As I read the article I came to realize that the Linkedin poster hadn't really read into the article that much, or [...]
While Vietnam is coming out of the Covid-19 epidemic, force majeure in Vietnam and elsewhere remains a major issue for investors both domestic and international. Cross-border flows of goods and people remain restricted, but internally, Vietnam is resuming business as usual to the extent possible. As the world locked down over the last few months, [...]
This week the European Union took the final step in its procedure for approving the EVFTA/EVIPA trade deals with Vietnam. All that is left is for Vietnam's National Assembly to give its opinion on the matter and the deal will, officially and finally, be sealed. The EVFTA and EVIPA are the fruit of over eight [...]
Recently we prepared a special alert concerning the current draft decree governing the cybersecurity law that has caused so much controversy in the interwebs. One clause, the requirement for offshore companies to establish onshore domain hosting along with a branch/rep office is particularly controversial. Below I quote from our security alert on this issue, as [...]
I try not to let my personal life interfere with this blog too much, though I do on occasion tell personal stories. I'm currently sitting in Laos Plaza Hotel in Vientiane, Laos, and wondering at the difference between Vietnam and Laos. While there is indeed some new construction here in Vientiane, it is nothing like [...]