Since Big C stopped importing Vietnamese garments: Let's talk by law

This morning, at Big C Vietnam headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City, there is no longer a scene where garment suppliers come to exchange, even stretch banners to protest Big C's announcement of temporary suspension of imports like last afternoon. Many garment business owners said that they stay at home to handle workers' wages because it is the beginning of the month, especially at home to coordinate inventory because they cannot deliver to Big C since 3 days and at home. to cancel orders of raw materials for production on the way back to the company. More importantly, according to Big C, garment suppliers will wait for Big C's emails until the end of today before counting.

Since Big C stopped importing Vietnamese garments: Let's talk by law - Photo 1.

The headquarters of Central Group Vietnam (the managing unit of Big C) on the morning of July 4, no longer had the scene of garment distributors gathering to protest.

Ms. Vy, the representative of Tran Truc Garment Company, who has provided knitwear for Big C Vietnam since 2009 until now, said that Big C stopped importing goods of her business and other garment enterprises too suddenly. From February up to now, in the annual contract renegotiation, she also finds it different, not as smooth as previous years, but unexpectedly this suddenly.

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On average, each month, her business supplies about 100,000 products to Big C. Now that the goods are not delivered in 3 days, the inventory is still piled up, raw materials are still on the way home, the pressure of the warehouse is huge. Besides, now Big C has not yet accepted the goods or not and if they receive it, they will never re-import, so the nearly 500 employees of this enterprise do not know how to solve it.

Ms. Vy agrees that with her business strategy, Big C has the right to choose the source of goods, but all must have order and time for suppliers to prepare: "Big C must have a process and roadmap. process so that the supplier knows the situation, prevent it from the outside because it is related to the employees, solving the work. The unexpected business has not yet found the source of the air conditioner, but unexpectedly stop like this. There is no way to save ".

From a legal perspective and long-standing business practices of garment suppliers with Big C, the end of June every year is the deadline for adjusting and re-signing contracts. But this year, by the end of last June, very few businesses were re-signed, most supply documents are still waiting, although the two sides have agreed with each other the most basic issue is the discount rate.

Thus, from this specific incident, it is not possible to say whether Big C Vietnam has violated the law on business, whether it violates the contracts signed with garment suppliers or not. But many economic experts, the legal expert warns, must see things from a legal economic perspective.

Lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, Chairman of the Center for Commercial Arbitration of Vietnam Lawyers, said that in this incident with Big C, it is possible that Vietnamese garment suppliers have been "offside". Whether Big C Vietnam has a commitment to the use rate of Vietnamese goods on supermarket shelves or not. In the contract agreement between Big C and the domestic garment suppliers, whether or not the time, price, payment method is specified, the agreements are tight and must be based on that basis. physical.

"The State only encourages these foreign supermarket businesses to use Vietnamese goods from Vietnamese enterprises. But since they are suppliers, they have the right to sell products that are allowed by law. Now they cut contracts. , Vietnamese enterprises objected, but on what basis did we object. We must have a legal department so that before doing these things, we must be legally strict, but we cannot protest, stretch banners ... do so Can not solve anything but not in accordance with the law ".

Economic expert Dinh The Hien analyzed that if we have opened up, integrated, signed many FTAs, most recently with the EU, the market opening and fair competition are natural. Small and medium businesses also have to grow up to keep up and more importantly, when there is an incident like with Big C a few days ago, you have to talk to each other by law. Big C has a team of lawyers, all providers must have their own lawyers. This is the first way the lawyers of both sides have to sit together to negotiate, mediate and litigate is the last resort.

"We remember that, economic law, the final solution is litigation, and the lawyers of the two sides will meet to negotiate and mediate. On the contrary, businesses do not follow that, but lead to protest. Right here in Big C, it should be very bad, an ordinary citizen can be frustrated, but all businesses and market research systems must see from the legal perspective of the economy. The law has shortcomings here and there, we point out to propose amendments to the law ", said Mr. Dinh The Hien.

It all needs to be seen on legal grounds. In the short term, suppliers for Big C should base themselves on the terms of the contract, the annual contract negotiation and renegotiation process, the ordering and delivery process ...