'Khaisilk case causes people's trust in Vietnamese brands to decline'

Immediately after Market Management Team No. 14 (Hanoi) coordinated with functional forces to inspect Khaisilk store at 113 Hang Gai (Hoan Kiem), Mr. Tran Hung - Deputy Director of Market Management Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) had an interview with the press about the incident.

Mr. Tran Hung, Deputy Director of Market Management Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Khaisilk silk scarf incident with two labels, "made in China" and "Khaisilk made in Vietnam" and the owner Hoang Khai's admission is causing a stir in public opinion, collapsing the trust of many people who love Vietnamese goods. From the perspective of a manager, what is your opinion on the above phenomenon?

This is a shocking phenomenon because Khaisilk is a very prestigious brand, famous for many years, and can be considered a major national brand.

The situation of Khaisilk silk scarves with two labels as above shows signs of commercial fraud and counterfeit origin. Today, Minister Tran Tuan Anh sent an urgent dispatch to the Market Management Department requesting inspection, verification, and clarification of signs of counterfeit origin of Khaisilk.

Following the direction, the market management agency immediately stepped in to verify. We will work our best to ensure there are no prohibited areas.

After the inspection, there will be detailed results, based on the results of the violation, if serious, criminal prosecution may be carried out, if minor, administrative fines will be imposed.

That's from a management perspective, but what about consumer rights when buying Khaisilk scarves with fake origins, sir?

Mr. Hoang Khai admitted in the press that the origin was fake and apologized and was ready to protect the rights of consumers. He was very regretful and repentant for letting that unfortunate incident happen, promising to recall and fully compensate the users for the damage.

I must say that I am very sad, the biggest loss here is not the material value. Khaisilk is almost considered a symbolic product for the country, talking about silk is talking about Khaisilk. On all holidays, celebrations, diplomatic delegations have always put their trust in brands such as Khaisilk silk, Minh Long ceramics, Bat Trang...

This kind of thing is very sad, very blameworthy, and causes a decline in people's trust in Vietnamese brands. That is the most damaging thing.

The phenomenon of purchasing Chinese goods/materials and "transforming" them into Vietnamese goods has been a common phenomenon for a long time, not just Khaisilk. Tariff barriers between Vietnam and other countries are gradually being eliminated, the profit gap is being erased, in your opinion, will this cause an explosion of business practices like Khaisilk?

I have just left my job at the National Steering Committee 389 on combating smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. While working here, I have repeatedly made recommendations on Vietnam's increasingly deep participation in free trade agreements, under which tariff barriers will gradually be eliminated. Eliminating tariffs will eliminate the profit gap from tax differences.

Therefore, these subjects will take advantage of importing goods from foreign countries to fake the origin of goods and goods that violate intellectual property rights.

With the trend of integration and participation in many free trade agreements of Vietnam, this phenomenon will increase sharply in the coming time. In particular, subjects will import goods from China - the world's factory to fake the origin, taking advantage of consumers.

Therefore, the authorities need to have more effective measures to prevent and deter this situation. The Government needs to have policies and legal documents to strictly manage and severely punish violators.

According to VnEconomy