HANOI: The Ministry of Finance has proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to consider taking used rubber tyres off the list of goods for temporary import and re-export permits.
The intention is to limit stockpiles at ports and check the entry of shipping waste to Viet Nam.
According to the Customs Department, about 2,440 containers of used tyres are currently left at Hai Phong Port, 34 containers at Cai Lan Port, and 28 containers at ports in HCM City.
The main reason why inventories are accumulating at seaports is that many goods owners do not make customs declaration of import consignments and some of them even refuse to receive their goods.
Goods owners mostly import goods for re-exporting them to third countries, especially China. However, they often fail to re-export their products as China has strict policies governing re-exported goods received via border posts, said Nguyen Nhat, the director of the Viet Nam Maritime Administration.
As imports fail to be re-exported, they are disowned and left at ports for an indefinite period of time.
According to the MoIT’s analysis, although used rubber tyres are considered as non-hazardous waste under the Basel Conven-tion’s adjustment, they still don’t meet the criteria required to be imported to Viet Nam.
In addition, thousands of containers carrying large, heavyweight used tyres are lying unclaimed at seaports across the country, limiting storage area and adding to the expenses of preserving goods, besides creating difficulties in inventory management.
It will take time to have these goods examined by appropriate agencies so that they can be classified and provided regulated licences for liquidating them.
Moreover, destructing these goods can seriously affect the environment and pose health risks.The Customs Department and relevant agencies are trying to deal with the inventory of these goods.
