Members of the VINACAS Delegation include: 1. Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoa, Vice Chairman and Head of Policy Committee; 2. Mr. Bach Khanh Nhut, Permanent Vice Chairman; 3. Mr. Dang Hoang Giang, General Secretary; 4. Ms. Pham Thi Thuy, Member of the Standing Committee and Head of Finance Committee; 5. Mr. Tran Huu Hau, Head of Inspection Committee and Deputy General Secretary. On behalf of the Delegation, Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoa reported and made recommendations to the Deputy Prime Minister on the issue of imported Cashews, the main contents of which are as follows: In 2024, Vietnam imported 131,620 tons of cashew nuts, equivalent to nearly 600,000 tons of raw cashew nuts, an increase of 20.72% compared to 2023. In the first three months of 2025 alone, this figure reached 19,561 tons. The main import source is from Africa, where countries are tightening the export of raw cashew nuts to promote domestic processing, while strongly supporting cashew nut exporting enterprises. Mr. Hoa specifically mentioned the policy of Ivory Coast: - Banning the export of raw cashews at the beginning of the season to give priority to domestic processing factories to purchase high-quality raw materials, only allowing exports after domestic demand has been met. - Applying minimum purchase and export prices for raw cashews. In 2025, the Ivory Coast Government raised the minimum purchase price at the farm to 425 CFA francs/kg, an increase of 54% compared to 275 CFA francs/kg in 2024. - Raw cashews exported to Vietnam are subject to export tax (DUS tax), the tax rate was adjusted from 10% to 7% of the CIF price since 2019. - In contrast, pre-processed cashews (kernels with silk shell, white kernels) are exempt from export tax and enjoy subsidies from the Government: Domestic cashew processing enterprises are subsidized 400 CFA francs/kg of exported cashews, equivalent to 400,000 CFA francs/ton. Mr. Hoa emphasized: While Ivory Coast and some African countries have strong support policies as above, Vietnam exempts taxes for all because they are raw materials for processing export goods. This causes unfair competition between the Vietnamese Cashew processing industry and African countries, causing the amount of cashew nuts imported from Africa to Vietnam to increase rapidly; the risk of causing many consequences for the Vietnamese Cashew industry in particular, and the Vietnamese socio-economy in general , specifically: Processing enterprises: Having to compete unfairly with cheap, low-quality imported cashew nuts, leading to the risk of narrowing production, losing market share and wasting investment. Cashew farmers: Domestic raw cashew nut prices have dropped sharply, consumption is difficult, directly affecting income, especially for ethnic minorities. Socio-economic: The added value from processing imported cashew nuts is insignificant; the risk of losing the national brand due to declining product quality; hundreds of thousands of workers may lose their jobs. Mr. Hoa stated India's policy on this issue: India has long applied measures to control cashew imports to protect the domestic cashew processing industry: Import tax: a basic tax rate of 30% is applied to whole and broken cashew nuts, along with a 5% GST and a 10% social welfare surcharge, bringing the total import tax and fees to about 46.35%. Minimum Import Price (MIP) : Import of whole and broken cashew kernels is prohibited if the CIF price is below INR 720/kg and INR 680/kg respectively. However, 100% export units and special economic zones (SEZs) are exempted from MIP, provided they do not sell to the domestic market. From the presented contents, to protect the Vietnamese cashew industry, Mr. Hoa presented VINACAS's recommendations to the Deputy Prime Minister and the Government: - Trade negotiations: Establish bilateral agreements to ensure fair import and export conditions with cashew supplying countries. - Tax policy: No import tax exemption for imported cashew nuts, including for the purpose of recycling for export. - Minimum import price: Apply a minimum import price for imported cashew nuts, similar to India's policy, to protect domestic processing enterprises. - Technical barriers: Establish strict quality control standards for imported cashew nuts, to protect the Vietnamese cashew brand. Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc acknowledged the contents presented by Mr. Hoa and discussed further with the delegation: Currently, not only the Cashew industry, but also businesses in other industries are facing many difficulties and obstacles. The Government always pays attention and makes efforts to remove difficulties and obstacles for businesses. The issue of import tax exemption for imported goods for export production is a general export production incentive policy of the State. Goods that Vietnam has not produced yet, or are in short supply, have priority in import policy. Taxing cashew nuts or some other goods is difficult because the law must be amended. To find a measure to protect domestic production, it is necessary to consider not to violate bilateral agreements (such as separate Trade Agreements signed with each country) and multilateral agreements (such as commitments in the WTO); as well as actual trade relations with each country. For example, Ivory Coast exports a lot of cashews to Vietnam, but Vietnam also exports many goods to Ivory Coast. If the import of cashew nuts into Vietnam is tightened, it may affect the export of other products to Ivory Coast. Members of the VINACAS delegation provided additional information to the Deputy Prime Minister: - Vietnam has not signed a bilateral trade agreement with most African countries. Therefore, we propose that the Government consider: + In the short term, because they have domestic protectionist policies that cause unfairness to Vietnamese enterprises (For example: regulations on minimum export prices and export taxes on raw cashews), we also need regulations to restore balance (For example: regulations on minimum import prices and import taxes on imported cashews) + In the long term, the Government negotiates to sign bilateral FTA agreements to create an open operating environment and fair competition for enterprises of the two countries - According to the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax 2016, the Government is the competent authority to issue import tax schedules and rates; therefore, we propose that the Government consider regulating appropriate import tax rates. For example: 25% tax rate according to the Preferential Import Tax Schedule. - Cashew nuts are not a product that Vietnam cannot produce, but on the contrary: Vietnam is a country that processes and exports over 80% of the world's cashew nuts. Therefore, cashew nuts should not be included in the list of priority import goods. - In addition to considering the application of tax regulations, it is recommended that industries and the Government consider and apply appropriate "Technical Barriers". Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc concluded: I acknowledge the recommendations and proposals of the Association. I will forward the Association's document to the relevant sectors for consideration and work directly with the Association to find a solution. The problem is to find a suitable solution that makes you support me, not to do anything to me. However, amending a law or having specific regulations for an industry or a product is not simple; removing or reducing taxes while they are being imposed is easy to gain support; imposing taxes while they are not yet being imposed is much more difficult. Editor (Excerpt from the Report of the VINACAS Working Group on the content of the working session with Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc on May 12, 2025)