Topic: FTAs

Businesses in Vietnam’s strong sectors like agriculture and aquaculture have seen relatively limited benefits from FTAs.

Along with India, Canada, and China, Vietnam has experienced the fastest average annual export growth from 2019 to 2023.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and the bloc topped $62 billion in 2022.

Trade between Vietnam and CPTPP member countries stood at $88.1 billion in the first ten months of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 19.2 per cent.

Utilization rates down to 32.7 per cent in 2021 from 39.7 per cent in 2017.

The space to take full advantage of new-generation FTAs remains significant if proper solutions are introduced.

At a discussion session on October 27 regarding the results of the socio-economic development plan in 2022 and the proposed plan for 2023, National Assembly (NA) deputies lauded the 2022 results but also expressed concern about high but unsustainable economic growth. They also proposed a host of solutions, such as exploiting the strengths of free trade agreements (FTAs) to expand and diversify export markets.

The Ministry of Finance has said it is developing a Decree on preferential tax rates to implement a series of FTAs in the 2022-2027 period, with some tax lines to come down to 0 per cent under a roadmap. An analyst from the Australian Economic Reform Program (Aus4ReForm) said that its participation in many bilateral and multilateral agreements with major economies in the world means Vietnam has become one of the most open countries in the region and the world.

The Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Hanoi (KOTRA Hanoi) has said it will organize direct trade connections between a business delegation from Incheon in South Korea and Vietnamese importers at the Lotte Hanoi Hotel on September 21. The event will attract the participation of 25 South Korean businesses. A representative from the Vietnam Trade Office in South Korea said trade cooperation between the two countries will see more opportunities for further development thanks to bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). The trade structure between the two is also complementary.