Opportunities from World Logistics Passport initiative

The country's membership came through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) from the Vietnam Logistics Association (VLA) and WLP, under the support of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnamese Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

With its strategic location as a regional transshipment and manufacturing hub with plenty of potential for future trade growth, the nation has been selected as an important member of the WLP network, duly helping to increase the efficiency of trade activities and the global supply chain.

As many as 22 Vietnamese logistic service providers have so far registered to participate in the WLP network.

In line with this, products and goods of Vietnamese enterprises will be facilitated and supported when granted WLP by the UAE. This help will be in terms of customs clearance, air tax exemption, reduction of inspection time, and the fast loading on means of transport for free.

This will help to reduce storage times by up to 48 hours, with goods able to be cleared before arrival at the port, resulting in significant time savings and operating costs being lowered by 40%.

Currently, some ports of the UAE implement tax, with fee exemptions and a reduction for goods being granted with WLP passports, thereby allowing goods passing through the Dubai Silk Road to save money for storage, whilst goods can be transported smoothly from the place of origin to the destination.

The UAE represents the largest Vietnamese trading partner in West Asia, with key products being electronics and components, machinery and equipment, footwear, textiles, vegetables, pepper, and rice.

According details given by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country’s trade surplus with the UAE reached US$3.3 billion last year. With these advantages, Dubai Customs is expecting goods traded from the nation to new markets to increase from 0.5% to 27% in the time ahead.

As a means of implementing the initiative effectively, the nation, as well as other member countries, will have the participation of core partners, such as customs agencies, seaports, airport operators, logistics associations, airlines and enterprises based in industrial parks, export processing zones, and inland ports.

The WLP loyalty programme is based on a partnership between traders, freight forwarders, and local entities, thereby providing additional trade in exchange for direct benefits.

Through a scoring and ranking system, the membership level for both Vietnamese and foreign traders will be done transparently on a digital platform.

It is known that global groups such as Samsung, Apple, and Foxcon are default members which enjoy the platinum level of this programme.

The WLP is a global initiative of the UAE Government, adopted by Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairman of the Executive Council, on March 2, 2019, and officially launched on October 13, 2019.

The initiative was announced by the UAE Ministry of Economy and officially introduced at the World Economic Forum's 50th Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January, 2020, with the participation of many countries, including Vietnam.

Accordingly, the WLP is built to reduce non-tariff barriers in international trade by reducing the time and operating costs of logistics services.

The WLP network spans over 48 countries on all continents and over 15 trade corridors in the global supply chain.

Furthermore, the WLP network currently accounts for 47% of global trade turnover with 121 partners, including customs of countries, which is the agency assigned to sponsor and preside over the implementation of preferential policies for WLP members.

On March 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, the VLA will co-ordinate with the WLP and the UAE Embassy in order to hold a signing ceremony and forum to launch the WLP initiative in Vietnam.