Vietnam’s Regulatory Reset Raises Near-Term Risks for Global Businesses

Hanoi, Vietnam, 25 August 2026 - Companies operating in Vietnam are entering one of the most consequential periods of regulatory change in the country’s recent history.

A sweeping government reorganization, changes in national leadership, and a rapid succession of new rules affecting chemicals, product quality, labeling, environmental responsibility, and conformity assessment are reshaping how companies manufacture, import, and place products on the Vietnamese market.

The reforms are intended to modernize public administration, reduce bureaucracy, expand digital government services and support long-term economic growth. For business, however, the transition brings a different immediate reality: regulatory responsibilities are shifting between agencies, provincial authorities are taking on greater responsibilities, and companies are confronting increasingly compressed implementation timelines.

The result is a compliance environment in which businesses cannot assume that yesterday’s authority, procedure, or product requirement will remain unchanged tomorrow.

Administrative reform changes the compliance map

Vietnam’s regulatory transformation accelerated in 2025 when the government consolidated 63 provinces and centrally governed cities into 34 provincial-level jurisdictions comprising 28 provinces and six centrally administered cities.

District-level government was also eliminated, creating a two-tier administrative structure of provincial and commune-level authorities. More than 10,000 commune-level administrative units were consolidated into approximately 3,321 communes, wards and special administrative zones, with the new structure beginning operation on July 1, 2025.

Several ministries were also reorganized. Responsibilities previously assigned to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs moved to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Ministry of Transport was combined with the Ministry of Construction, while agricultural and environmental responsibilities were brought together under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

For companies, these are not simply changes to government organization.

Permits, registrations, inspections, conformity assessments and enforcement activities may now be handled by different authorities, offices or personnel. Established government contacts may no longer control the same regulatory portfolios, while procedures can change as responsibilities move between national and local authorities.

Companies therefore need to reassess not only what requirements apply, but also which authority now administers them.

New leadership reinforces growth, technology, and environmental priorities

Vietnam’s political leadership also changed in April 2026, with General Secretary To Lam elected State President for the 2026–2031 term and Le Minh Hung elected Prime Minister.

The new leadership has emphasized economic growth, institutional reform, science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and the removal of regulatory bottlenecks.

At the same time, environmental protection, climate resilience, resource security, and green economic development remain important policy priorities.

This combination is important for business planning. Vietnam is not simply pursuing deregulation. Instead, it appears to be moving toward a regulatory model that seeks to streamline administrative processes while imposing more sophisticated controls on product safety, chemical hazards, environmental impacts, and end-of-life responsibility.

Companies may eventually encounter fewer paper-based processes—but that does not mean substantive compliance requirements will become easier.

Chemical regulation enters a new era

Chemical regulation is undergoing particularly significant change.

Vietnam adopted Law on Chemicals No. 69/2025/QH15 in June 2025, replacing the country’s previous chemical law. The Ministry of Industry and Trade subsequently developed three implementing decrees and two circulars to establish a coordinated framework for the new legislation.

The framework introduces or expands requirements concerning:

• Notification of new chemical substances;

• Management of chemicals subject to international conventions;

• Specialized controls for designated categories of hazardous chemicals;

• Classification and labeling under the Globally Harmonized System;

• Safety data and supply-chain information;

• Chemical reporting and recordkeeping; and

• Controls on chemicals contained in certain finished products.

The Ministry of Health has also issued restrictions affecting chemicals used in antimicrobial and insecticidal products. Other agencies have introduced sector-specific prohibitions covering substances used in printing inks for food packaging, film processing, libraries and the conservation or restoration of cultural and historical materials.

For manufacturers and importers, the practical risk extends beyond direct chemical sales. Companies marketing mixtures, treated articles, packaging, electronics, consumer goods or industrial products containing regulated substances may also fall within the expanded framework.

Businesses should not assume that compliance under the former chemical law will automatically satisfy the new requirements. Chemical inventories, substance classifications, safety data sheets, labels, supplier declarations, and import records may all require reassessment.

Product quality rules shift toward risk-based regulation

Vietnam is also restructuring its product quality regime.

The amended Law on Product and Goods Quality introduces a risk-based framework under which products may be classified as high, medium, or low risk. A product’s assigned risk category determines the type of conformity assessment, declaration, certification, testing, or government oversight that may apply.

Authorities have begun designating products as high risk and linking them to mandatory Vietnamese technical regulations or national standards.

Affected categories include fuels, liquefied petroleum gas, toys, electrical equipment, consumer appliances, information technology products, telecommunications equipment, lighting products, construction materials, automobiles, automotive components, agricultural equipment, fertilizers, and seeds.

Additional controls have been issued for food and health-related products, including nutritional products for young children, bottled water, ice, and certain plastic and rubber food-contact materials.

For executives, the principal risk is market-access disruption.

A product that was previously imported or sold with limited regulatory intervention may now require testing, certification, a declaration of conformity, or a prescribed quality mark. Noncompliant products may be delayed at customs, removed from distribution channels, or targeted during market surveillance inspections.

Vietnam has already demonstrated an increasingly active enforcement posture. Between 15 December 2025 and 10 May 2026, market surveillance authorities inspected more than 17,000 cases and identified violations in nearly 15,000 of them.

Labeling becomes more digital and more complex

Vietnam’s labeling framework is also evolving.

New requirements retain many of the traditional mandatory labeling elements applied across numerous product categories while introducing a stronger legal foundation for electronic labels and digital product passports.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is expected to establish the information and technical framework for digital product passports, while sector-specific ministries may determine which products must use them.

This creates a potentially significant data-management obligation. Companies may eventually need to connect physical products with digital records covering composition, origin, conformity status, environmental characteristics, repairability, recyclability or supply-chain history.

Products marketed using “Halal” claims are also subject to new conformity assessment and labeling controls. Businesses making such claims must ensure that certification, documentation and product presentation satisfy the applicable Vietnamese framework.

The risk is no longer limited to whether required words appear on a physical label. Companies must increasingly evaluate whether claims, electronic records, QR codes, product databases and supply-chain evidence are accurate, consistent and accessible to regulators.

Environmental Responsibility Embraces Extended producer responsbility

Vietnam is also expanding producer responsibility for products after they are sold.

Manufacturers and brand owners placing vehicles, batteries, electrical and electronic equipment, packaging, and other designated products on the Vietnamese market may be required to meet recovery and recycling obligations.

Covered businesses may need to achieve government-established recycling rates, arrange or finance collection and treatment programs and maintain supporting documentation.

For certain products that are difficult to recycle, companies may instead be required to pay environmental contributions based on the number or quantity of products placed on the market.

Potentially affected categories include single-use batteries, disposable hygiene products, wet wipes, chewing gum, single-use plastics, clothing, toys, cigarettes and construction materials.

These obligations create direct financial exposure and may also affect packaging design, supplier selection, product pricing, contracts with local distributors and environmental reporting systems.

Executives should treat extended producer responsibility as a commercial planning issue—not simply an environmental compliance exercise.

The critical business risk is regulatory velocity

Individually, each of Vietnam’s reforms would require careful implementation. Collectively, they represent a broad regulatory reset.

The principal challenge is the speed at which new obligations are being introduced.

Companies may have only a limited period to interpret new legislation, identify implementing decrees and circulars, determine which ministry or provincial authority has jurisdiction, update product documentation, and complete any required testing or certification.

This risk is amplified when regulatory responsibilities are simultaneously moving between agencies and local authorities are still developing their own procedures.

Businesses relying exclusively on local distributors or customs brokers to identify new obligations may be particularly exposed. A distributor may understand import procedures but may not have sufficient information about a product’s full chemical composition, technical specifications, environmental claims, or global supply chain to establish compliance.

Priorities for companies conducting business in Vietnam in 2026 and beyond

Leadership teams should consider immediate action in five areas.

First, companies should conduct a Vietnam-specific product portfolio review rather than relying on regional or global compliance assumptions. Each product should be assessed for chemical, labeling, conformity assessment, product quality, and environmental obligations.

Second, businesses should map the authority responsible for each regulatory requirement. This should include national ministries, technical agencies, provincial authorities, certification bodies, and local market-surveillance offices.

Third, companies should review contracts and information-sharing procedures with suppliers. Regulatory compliance increasingly depends on accurate composition data, testing reports, recycled-content information, certificates, and evidence supporting product claims.

Fourth, businesses should reassess implementation timelines and maintain a centralized register of new Vietnamese laws, decrees, circulars, technical regulations, and effective dates.

Finally, senior management should establish a clear escalation process for products whose regulatory status is uncertain. Launching or continuing to sell a product while waiting for informal clarification may create customs, recall, enforcement, and reputational risks.

A more predictable system may emerge—but the transition requires caution

Vietnam’s reforms are ultimately designed to support a more efficient administration, improve transparency, encourage digitalization, and strengthen the country’s position as a modern manufacturing and commercial hub.

Those objectives may deliver meaningful long-term benefits for international businesses.

The transition period, however, demands close attention. Regulatory decentralization, agency restructuring, expanding environmental controls, and rapidly changing product requirements are creating a compliance environment in which past practices may no longer provide a reliable guide.

For companies doing business in Vietnam, regulatory risk in 2026 is not defined by any single law. It arises from the combined effect of structural reform, regulatory volume, shortened implementation periods, and more active product-market oversight.

Businesses that identify these changes early and integrate them into product development, supply chain management, and market-access decisions will be better positioned to benefit from Vietnam’s growth. Those that treat the reforms as routine administrative updates may face delays, unplanned costs, and avoidable enforcement exposure.