Vietnam to set quality requirements for some chemicals 
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam notified WTO/TBT of drafts of National Technical Regulation (QCVN) regarding the quality of the following chemicals on October 8, 2020. These drafts specify technical requirements, testing methods, and quality control during manufacture, import, and trade of each chemical.
- Industrial Ammonia (NH3)
- Poly Aluminium Chloride (PAC)
- Potassium chlorate (KClO3)
- Sodium chlorate (NaClO3)
- Sodium nitrate (NaNO3)
Quality requirements:
The drafts specifically stipulate the quality requirements for each chemical product. Examples are shown below.
Industrial Ammonia（NH3）
| Items | Technical requirements |
| Content of liquid ammonia (% by weight) | ≥ 99.6 |
| Moisture content (% by weight) | ≤ 0.2 |
| Content of oil (mg/l) | ≤ 8.0 |
| Content of Iron (Fe) (ppm) | ≤ 2.0 |
Sodium nitrate (NaNO3)
| Items | Technical requirements | Testing methods |
| Purity (%) | ≥ 98.5 | Potassium permanganate titration method |
| Moisture content (%) | ≤ 1.2 | See Section 3.1 of QCVN 03: 2012/BCT |
| Insoluble residue (%) | ≤ 0.15 | See Section 3.6 of QCVN 03: 2012/BCT |
| pH | 5 – 5.9 | See Section 3.7 of QCVN 03: 2012/BCT |
| Content of NaNO2 (%) | ≤ 0.02 | Photometric method |
| Content of NaCl (%) | ≤ 0.1 | See Section 3.6 of this draft |
Responsibilities of manufacturer and importer
| Manufacturer | After receiving the conformity certification, a manufacturer must apply for a manufacturer’s declaration of conformity to the regional bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Trade where manufacturing takes place in accordance with “Circular No. 36/2019/TT-BCT on management of quality of products and goods under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade”. |
| Importer | After receiving conformity certification, an importer must apply for quality inspection to an appropriate inspection agency in accordance with “Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN on the state inspection of quality of imported goods under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology” and “Circular No. 07/2017/TT-BCT amending and supplementing a number of articles of No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN ”. |
Other requirements
- Labels to be displayed must comply with “Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP on goods labeling” and related laws and regulations.
- When transporting Industrial Ammonia (NH3), Potassium chlorate (KClO3), Sodium chlorate (NaClO3), and Sodium nitrate (NaNO3), “Decree No. 42/2020/ND-CP on providing the List of dangerous goods and the transport of dangerous goods by road motor vehicles and the transport of dangerous goods on inland waterways” must be followed.
- When storing Potassium chlorate (KClO3), Sodium chlorate (NaClO3), and Sodium nitrate (NaNO3), “National technical regulation QCVN 01:2019/BCT on safety in the process of producing, testing, performing check and acceptance, storage, transportation, use, disposal of industrial explosive materials and storage of explosive precursors” must be followed.
The original texts of each WTO/TBT notification are available at the following URL.
