Vietnam’s revamped Chemical Law leaves companies with uncertainties
The new law requires mandatory disclosure of hazardous substances in products, notification of new chemicals but provides little details on implementation.
Vietnam’s new Chemical Law (Law 65/2025/QH15), signed into law on 14 June 2025, promises to strengthen the country’s exisitng chemical management framework but still leaves company with uncertainties over its implementation. Replacing its 12 year-old predecessor - Law 06/2007/QH12 - the new law retains much of the existing framework while ushering in new requirements such as chemical disclosure for products containing chemicals and repealing requirements for low risk or low harzardous chemicals.
Chemicals in products
One of the major changes in the new law is the emphasis on the requirements for products containing chemicals. Under the existing framework, chemicals are clearly regulated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) via the Vietnam chemical agency, Vinachemia. However, existing language is ambiguous on whether products containing chemicals could be regulated. The language in the new law closes this gap and expands MOIT’s and Vinachemia’s purview. Starting in January 2026, products containing hazardous chemicals must conform to national laws, decrees, national technical regulations, and standards. Manufacturers must have a system to monitor these hazardous chemicals in products while companies testing for these hazardous substances must conform to national standards for chemical testing. Additionally, companies must disclose the concentration of hazardous substances in products prior to placing them on the market via the government’s chemical database, the company or brand’s website or at retail places. The law requires regulating agencies to specify additional requirements as necessary. Vinachemia states that these “requirements will minimize the harmful effects of hazardous chemicals on people, personal and real properties, and the environment and are consistent with the world’s chemical management trends.”
However, the agency has not announced specific intention of issuing any new requirements. Those, if any, could come under the form of implementing decrees or circulars, which are expected to be released in the near future. Likely requirements might include revamping the circulars on chemical restrictions or labelling of hazardous chemicals in “articles” (e.g. hard object in which chemicals have been incorporated), such as chemical usage in electrical and electronic products, textile, medical devices and a myriad of other products that remain unregulated under the existing framework.
Revamp of requirements relating to different types of chemicals
The law repeals the distinction between permitted, restricted, prohibited and declared chemicals as governed by various lists. Instead, chemicals would be divided into new and existing chemicals. Within these, chemicals could be further designated as controlled chemicals requiring special monitoring or prohibited chemicals.
Under the new framework, companies are now permitted to manufacture chemicals unless they are prohibited by the Law on Investment (LOI). LOI prohibits narcotic substances (annex I), and asbestos and other chemicals under the Chemical Weapons Convention (annex II). Currently, the prohibited chemical list is governed by Decree 113/2017/ND-CP, an implementing decree for the current chemical law. While this change could be seen as an “administrative change” with no short term impact because the prohibited chemical list under LOI and Decree 113/2017/ND-CP are essentially similar, the deferral to LOI has two effects: 1) any prohibition on chemicals would be evaluated as part of the country’s economic strategy on investment; 2) addition to this list would be more difficult to change since it involves amendment through the People’s Congress rather than through a regulating agency such as Vinachemia. In short, complete prohibition on chemicals could face additional hurdles.
New and existing chemicals
The new law retains much of the language on new and existing chemicals. However, companies should expect to see new requirements relating to this distinction in 2026 rather than ignoring them as many have done under the 2007 law. Although the 2007 law also includes references to the new and existing chemicals, the government has never issued a chemical inventory nor requirements relating to this concept of new versus existing chemicals. On the other hand, Vinachemia and its supporting agency have been developing a national chemical inventory (“NCI”) for the past few years. The final NCI is expected to be somewhere between 12 000 chemicals, which the agency has reportedly vetted, and over 40 000 chemicals, which have been submitted by industry but has yet been vetted. It is unclear when MOIT/ Vinachemia will complete this work. In order to implement these new requirements, the Vinchemia must release the NCI prior to the rules for new and existing chemicals taking effect, which the agency has also hinted in the past but has yet to provide publicly.
When these new rules are issued, new chemicals - those not found on the NCI - would be “notified” or “registered” in a similar fashion to new chemical programs under US TSCA or China MEE or perhaps the PMPIN program in the Philippines. It is unclear what assessment or evaluation mechanisms and data requirements MOIT would required for these new chemicals. The law does specify that organisations conducting assessments must follow OECD’s guidelines. During the the first five year of its “registration/ notification”, companies must also report annually on the handling and usage of the new chemical.
Existing chemicals - those found on the national chemical inventory - especially chemicals which are considered low risk or low hazardous chemicals are expected to be exempted from the current permitting process for permitted chemicals. The new law also replaces the the existing chemical declaration program - which are restricted to certain listed chemicals under existing law or decrees - with a reporting requirement for all imports of existing chemicals. This feature is similar to reporting programs seen in other countries and are not expected to be as onerous as the current declaration procedures.
Controlled chemicals
In place of the restricted chemical list and its associated requirements, the new law introduces a new category of “controlled chemicals which required specialized monitoring”. Importers and users (e.g industrial companies) of these chemicals must provide additional reporting information regarding their intended reason for importing or usage.
GHS classification and labelling
Chemicals being supplied in the country are still classified and labelled under the UN Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling (“GHS”), whereby suppliers are obligated to notify relevant parties (importers, suppliers government agencies, etc.) upon discovery of additional hazards which have not been previously disclosed. The law does not specify which revision of GHS VIetnam is likely to adopt under the new framework. Vinachemia currently allows the use of the 2nd revision to the latest version and could be expected to retain policies when it issues the new implementing decree.
“New” definition for hazardous chemicals
Unlike the existing law where hazardous chemicals are defined as one of the hazardous categories under the Globally Harnomized System for Classification and Labelling (“GHS”), the new law defines hazardous chemicals as “chemicals which cause harmful effect on human health, physical properties, or the environment and meeting at least one hazardous criterion as categorised by the leading central chemical agency.” (emphasis added)
The new definition appears to allow regulating agencies, such as the Vietnam Chemical Agency (Vinachemia), to have a wider authority in defining “hazardous chemicals” and might seem like a departure from GHS classification at first glance. Given that the law still requires GHS classification and labelling, the hazardous definition could still be tied to GHS. Moreover, the likely scenario is that Vinachemia and other agencies would use this authority to evolve the hazardous definition in cases where later revisions of GHS add new classes and categories. It could also permits regulatory agencies to regulate hazardous chemicals under international conventions without having to involve the central government or the People’s Congress in amending sections of the law.
What are missing from the new law are some definitions which were included in the draft law, including definitions for chemical impurity and additives. Vinachemia has previously expressed an interest to provide clear guidance on these definitions and requirements for industry. Future subsidiary decrees or circulars may provide a clearer understanding of what the government considers to be hazardous chemicals and their regulatory status.
Busniess impact remains unclear picture
The new law provides a framework for how Vietnam’s chemical management framework will evolve, but like all framework laws, it still lacks specificity on exact requirements. In other for these rules to come into effect, the agency must still publish the national chemical inventory (NCI). Delays in this work could delay some of the regulatory ambitions set out by the new law. While the law sets a rolling deadlines for many of these requirements starting on 1 January 2026, these obligations are contingent upon MOIT’s and Vinachemia’s publication of these essential details. These details will hopefully become clearer as MOIT and Vinachemia issues new implementing decrees, circulars and guidances. Vinachemia has promised to consult industry and other stake holders on any new requirements so a draft decree to replace Decree 113/2017/ND-CP could be circulated soon.
Manufacturers, importers, and brand owners of products containing chemicals should remain vigilant in monitoring restrictive requirements relating to specific uses that could affect non-chemical sectors such as automotive, aerospace, coatings, electrical & electronics, medical devices, plastic/ packaging, textile and many other products. Requirements on these products could follow international trends like the ROHS restrictions in electrical and electronic products, or PFAS and other chemical bans for various products.
