Illegal waste imports reach alarming level
Mismanagement and legal loopholes have both lent a hand to enterprises to illegally import prohibited waste. The National Assembly’s Standing Committee convened a meeting on September 13 discussing the amendment of the Technology Transfer Law. At the meeting, National Assembly’s Chair Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan asked: “Will the new law be able to prevent the danger of Vietnam becoming the world’s dumping ground?” Just two days later, Formosa Ha Tinh, a foreign invested enterprise, was found importing 160 tons of bauxite sludge and carbon aluminum sludge. How would Formosa treat the material sludge after using it? He said chicken, she said duck. The Vung Ang Port Customs Agency affirmed that the bauxite sludge Formosa imported was a duty-free product found on the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s list of goods allowed to be imported. Meanwhile, the ministry has said it would not allow imports of this kind of product.
