Pursuant to the provisions of Art. 61.1 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce, one of the conditions for conducting credit rating of e-commerce websites is being a trader or an organisation established under Vietnamese law.

Vietnam is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

The local preference directive for government procurement (Directive No. 494/CT-TTg) limits foreign firms from bidding on government-issued procurement tenders to instances where domestic bidders cannot meet the required services or supplies. Consequently, foreign suppliers or contractors are selected only when domestic companies are unable to provide the necessary goods or services or when financing agreements between the Vietnamese government and donors mandate international bidding. However, it should be noted that this directive is not a binding measure or regulation. Instead, it is an instruction from the Prime Minister aimed at achieving specific strategic targets in economic development.

According to Art. 11 of Law No. 22/2023/QH15 on Bidding, international bidding may be organised under specific conditions. These include
(i) instances where international bidding is mandated by a donor funding the project or package under an international convention or loan agreement;
(ii) where domestic bidders fail to meet the requirements of consulting, non-consulting, or construction service packages, or where prequalification or competitive bidding procedures yield no satisfactory results.
(iii) for consulting service packages when deemed necessary by the competent authority to enhance quality, provided the authority assumes responsibility for the decision.
However, international bidding is not applicable for projects involving business lines prohibited to foreign investors, projects requiring domestic bidding for reasons of national defence, security, or public order, projects located in areas restricted to foreign entities under the Law on Land, or projects with a total investment below VND 800 billion (approximately USD 33.33 million). In cases where international expressions of interest are invited but fail to receive responses from foreign bidders, such projects are also excluded from international bidding.

Law No. 64/2020/QH14 on Public Private Partnership was issued in June 2020 and has been effective since January 2021. Art. 58.5 of the Law states that Public Private Partnership projects only use foreign labourers if domestic labourers do not meet the demand.

Vietnam’s Law No. 22/2023/QH15 on Bidding, which came into effect in June 2023, Law No. 43/2013/QH13 on Bidding. While the Law generally maintains similar provisions for scenarios where international bidding is permitted, it continues to require international bidders to collaborate with domestic contractors. This collaboration can take the form of a consortium or subcontracting arrangement, except in cases where no domestic contractors are qualified to execute any portion of the procurement package (Art. 5.1).

According to Art. 10 of Law No. 22/2023/QH15 on Bidding, incentives are integrated into the contractor and investor selection processes to prioritise eligible entities. For contractor selection, these incentives include suppliers of goods originating in Vietnam, domestic bidders producing Vietnam-origin goods, domestic bidders participating independently or in consortiums in international bidding, microenterprises, small enterprises, and startups. Incentives for contractors involve higher rankings for eligible bidders in cases of equal evaluation, extra points under fixed-price, technical-based, or combined technical and price evaluation methods, adjustments to bid prices for ineligible bidders under lowest-price methods, and prioritisation of capacity, experience, and other criteria during evaluations. Additionally, employers may require the inclusion of domestic goods in bids if at least three domestic manufacturers meet the specified standards. For investor selection, incentives apply to those implementing technological solutions to reduce environmental pollution in high-risk projects. Eligible investors receive higher rankings in cases of equal evaluation and extra points during bid evaluations.

Circular No. 40 seeks to enhance the legal framework governing the prioritisation of domestically produced information technology (IT) products and services in investment, hiring, and procurement, as mandated by Art. 4 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP. The Circular provides guidance to state agencies on consulting and accessing information regarding prioritised IT products and services for these purposes. Enterprises whose IT products and services meet the priority criteria outlined in the Circular (Arts. 5-9) are eligible to receive preferential consideration from state agencies in investment, leasing, and procurement processes.

Vietnam is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2012.

It is reported that restrictions on foreign direct investment are applicable to cryptocurrency trading. When cryptocurrencies are traded as securities, such activity is considered regulated and requires a licence under the Capital Markets and Services Act, with a maximum of 70% foreign equity ownership permitted.

Resolution No. 253 lists the foreign entities or organisations recognised by the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) for the homologation and certification of telecommunications equipment: (European Union, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States, Industry Canada of Canada, Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicações (ANATEL) of Brazil, Comisión Federal de Telecomunicaciones (COFETEL) of Mexico, and the Comisión Nacional de Comunicaciones (CNC) of Argentina) (Art. 3). CONATEL is limited to administrative homologation based on the acceptance of the homologation certificates of the aforementioned entities.
On the other hand, Art. 4 establishes that certification bodies or organisations that issue certificates or declarations of conformity, approval or homologation on behalf or by authorisation of the approval bodies or organisations indicated in the previous article, either by designation or by Mutual Recognition Agreements, shall also be considered as recognised.

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 100, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The Decree 2,092 and the Consumer and User Protection Law of 2004 provide a comprehensive consumer protection framework that applies to online transactions. According to Art. 3 of the Consumer and User Protection Law, all legal acts entered into between suppliers of goods and services and consumers and users related to the acquisition and leasing of goods, the contracting of public or private services, and any other legal business of economic interest for the parties, are subject to the provisions of the Law.

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

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