Vanuatu is not a party to the World Trade organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) nor does it have observer status.

Pursuant to Art. 16 of the Vanuatu Foreign Investment Promotion Act No. 25 of 2019, a foreign investor may undertake any investment activity in Vanuatu unless the activity is classified as a prohibited or reserved activity. However, none of the sectors included is relevant for digital trade.

Art. 45.9 of the Foreign Investment Act No. 25 of 2019 stipulates that foreign investors must establish a joint partnership with a citizen of Vanuatu if their business activities are expanded more than three times through variations.

According to Art. 83(5) of the Companies Act, as amended in December 2018, requires companies to ensure that at least one director must be a natural person who ordinarily resides in Vanuatu.

In 2015, the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular 39/2014/TT-NHNN to regulate payments via intermediaries, and the Circular was then replaced by Circular 23/2019/TT-NHNN in 2019. E-payments made via intermediaries such as e-wallets are regulated under this Circular. According to the Circular, owners of e-wallets must link the wallet to a bank account created in Vietnam or via branches of foreign banks in Vietnam in order to make payments in Vietnam.

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 43, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

In February 2020, the Vietnamese government issued Decree No. 15/2020/ND-CP to regulate administrative violations in several sectors including the telecommunications sector, IT and electronic transactions. Art. 44.1.(d) of the Decree regulates penalties for electronic newspapers, general websites or web portals, and social networks for not using the Vietnamese national domain name ".vn" and not storing information in the server system with an IP address in Vietnam. In addition, according to Art. 45.3.(d) of the Decree, these companies shall be fined if they do not use primary domain name servers (DNS) using the Vietnamese national domain name ".vn".

Art. 25.3 of the Law on Cybersecurity stipulates that certain foreign enterprises must establish a branch or a representative office in Vietnam. This obligation extends to foreign enterprises that provide services via telecommunications networks, the Internet, and value‑added services in cyberspace within Vietnam, and that collect, utilise, analyse, or process personal data, data concerning user relationships, and data generated by users in Vietnam. A comparable requirement previously appeared in Art. 26.3 of the earlier Law on Cybersecurity.

The Law on Protection of Consumer Rights provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions.

Vietnam has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Vietnam has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Vietnam has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

Decree No. 58/2016/ND-CP, issued in July 2016, regulates the sale and provision of civil encryption products and services, as well as the export and import of such products. Under this Decree, corporations seeking to export or import civil encryption products must obtain an export and import licence.
Annex 1 of the Decree specifies the products and services within its scope, including:
-Biometric encryption products, encryption key management or storage items;
-Cryptographic components of a PKI system;
-Stored data security products;
-Online data security products;
-IP and channel security products;
-Analog and digital voice security products;
-Wireless security products;
-Facsimile and telegraph security products;
-Information protection services utilising civil
encryption products;
-Civil encryption testing and evaluation services;
-Network data security consulting services utilising civil encryption products.
Annex 2 outlines civil encryption products requiring export/import licences, listed under the following HS codes: HS 8443, HS 8471, HS 8473, HS 8517, HS 8523, HS 8525, HS 8526, HS 8529, HS 8542, and HS 854.
The National Agency of Cryptography and Information Security (NACIS) is currently drafting a new decree to amend Decree No. 58/2016/ND-CP, addressing various issues related to cyber information security, including the export and import of civil encryption products.

Law No. 86/2015/QH13 imposes restrictions and conditions on entities engaging in the import, export, and trade of various network information security products with encryption capabilities. It has been reported that applications for import permits are cumbersome and involve licenses, certificates of conformity, product specifications, copies of commercial invoices, and copies of commercial contracts or documentary evidence. In addition, Decree No.108/2016/ND-CP stipulates in detail the conditions for trade in network information security products and services related to Law No. 86/2015/Qh13. According to Art. 4.2 of the Decree, the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) is assigned to make a list of network information security products to be imported upon license. Upon the Decree, MIC issued Circular No.13/2018/TT-BTTTT. The Circular regulates the list of network information security products to be imported upon licenses and procedures, as well as dossiers for import licensing. The information network security products to be imported upon license include (i) HS847130 (portable digital automatic data processing machines); (ii) HS847141 (automatic data processing machines and units); (iii) HS847149 (digital automatic data processing machines and units).

Decree No. 58/2016/ND-CP dated July 2016 regulates the sale and provision of civil encryption products and services as well as the export or import of civil encryption products. According to the Decree, corporations who want to export and import civil encryption products are requested to apply for the export and import license. Annex 1 of the Decree lists products and services within the scope of the decree, including:
-Biometric encryption products, encryption key management or storage items;
-Cryptographic components of a PKI system;
-Stored data security products;
-Online data security products;
-IP and channel security products;
-Analog and digital voice security products;
-Wireless security products;
-Facsimile and telegraph security products;
-Information protection services utilising civil
encryption products;
-Civil encryption testing and evaluation services;
-Network data security consulting services utilising civil encryption products.
In addition, Annex 2 of the Decree lists civil encryption products to be exported and imported under license: HS8443, HS 8471, HS8473, HS 8517, HS8523, HS8525, HS8526, HS 8529, HS8542, HS854.
The National Agency of Cryptography and Information Security (NACIS) is currently drafting a new decree to amend Decree No. 58/2016/ND-CP, addressing various issues related to cyber information security, including the export and import of civil encryption products.