Vietnam Prime Minister Directive 38/CĐ-TTg — nationwide IP enforcement campaign (Special 301 response)

Mechanism

On 5 May 2026, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính issued Công điện số 38/CĐ-TTg — a formal Prime Ministerial dispatch directing all relevant ministries, provincial authorities, and enforcement agencies to launch a nationwide IP infringement enforcement campaign from 7 May to 30 May 2026, with a mandatory reporting deadline of 31 May 2026.

The directive is a direct response to the USTR 2026 Special 301 Report (30 April 2026) designating Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country (PFC) — the highest-severity category under Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974. The PFC designation triggers a statutory 30-day window (expiring ~30 May 2026) within which USTR must decide whether to initiate a Section 301 investigation under 19 U.S.C. § 2412(b)(2)(A). Hanoi is treating this as a systemic market-access risk: a Section 301 investigation could lead to tariffs, withdrawal of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits, or other Section 301 enforcement remedies against Vietnamese exports.

Agencies mobilised:

• Ministry of Public Security (MPS) — criminal IP enforcement, counterfeit-goods seizure operations
• Ministry of Industry and Trade / Market Surveillance Directorate (QLTT) — physical-goods raids at

wholesale markets (including Dong Xuan, An Dong), e-commerce platform sweeps

• General Department of Customs (GDVC) — border IP enforcement, counterfeit import interdiction
• Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) — online piracy takedowns, digital-platform

enforcement against pirated content (film, music, software)

• Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism / Copyright Office (COV) — software-license audits at

enterprises, broadcast-copyright enforcement on digital networks

Scope of enforcement:

• Counterfeit manufactured goods destined for export (key concern flagged by USTR: Vietnamese-origin

counterfeit shipments to the US market)

• Pirated content on online platforms (streaming piracy, unauthorised distribution of foreign films,

recorded music, and television programmes)

• Unlicensed software at enterprises (particularly Windows/Office piracy, flagged by Business Software

Alliance in USTR submissions)

• Digital-environment copyright infringement broadly ("no forbidden zones" language)

Permanent posture signal: Tuổi Trẻ (12 May 2026) reported that the Prime Minister signalled Directive 38 represents a permanent policy shift rather than a one-off campaign — enforcement will continue beyond the 30 May deadline, with sustained inter-agency mechanisms institutionalised.

Downstream implications

• The 30 May 2026 reporting deadline aligns exactly with the USTR 30-day Section 301 decision window.

Hanoi is racing to demonstrate "concrete progress" sufficient to forestall a formal Section 301 investigation, which would inflict direct tariff/trade-benefit harm on Vietnamese exporters (electronics, apparel, footwear).

• A Section 301 investigation foregone or deferred would represent a significant de-escalation of the

US-Vietnam trade-tension arc; a Section 301 launched despite the campaign would signal USTR views the campaign as insufficient and could presage targeted tariffs analogous to the 2018 China Section 301 sequence.

• The directive operationalises a now-established enforcement template: in 2006 and 2018 prior Special 301

periods, Vietnam similarly launched high-visibility enforcement campaigns in the weeks before USTR annual reporting deadlines. Recidivism history is part of why Vietnam received the PFC (rather than Priority Watch List) designation in 2026.

• MOIT's post-Directive enforcement raids (as covered by Báo Chính phủ) show operational follow-through

beyond the directive text — market surveillance teams swept known counterfeit hotspots in major cities.

• Precedent for Section 301 follow-on and customs/export-licence tightening if USTR determines the campaign

as insufficient; also precedent for further Special 301 Annual Out-of-Cycle Reviews (OCRs) as US monitoring mechanism.

Open questions

• Will USTR announce Section 301 initiation after the 30 May deadline, or will a formal "Action Plan"

commitment from Vietnam (similar to 2019 China Phase 1 IP commitments) avert formal investigation?

• What specific metrics does USTR use to evaluate Vietnam's 30-day "concrete progress" showing?
• Whether the Ministry of Finance will issue implementing guidance on customs-valuation and classification

for counterfeit-goods seizures under this directive.

• Whether the campaign will produce any criminal prosecutions (versus administrative fines) — the latter

being a historical USTR complaint about Vietnamese IP enforcement.