Economic, political benefits of joining TPP

He added that with the consistent policy of the Party and State on international economic integration after joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnam has continued negotiations for a free trade area (FTA) as the TPP with 12 participating countries which account for 40 percent of the world's GDP and 30 percent of its import-export value.

The TPP agreement will help boost export development and increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam, the Minister said.

Furthermore, the agreement will offer Vietnam a great opportunity to accelerate the restructuring process in association with the innovation of economic growth model in Vietnam.

However, it will inevitably create drawbacks that need to be anticipated and avoided, particularly in business competitiveness.

According to Minister Hoang, the agricultural sector will be the most vulnerable because Vietnam is basically an agricultural country with small-scale manufacturing, low labour productivity and high costs.

Therefore, during the negotiations with the US and other members, Vietnam has asked to consider the difference in development between member countries.

Vietnamhas asked for a suitable roadmap to implement TPP commitments for slow developing countries like Vietnam in some fields such as tax reduction and exemption.

On the other hand, Vietnam's agricultural businesses need to take time to deploy the roadmap to overcome its shortcomings and to improve product competiveness.

(Source: Dangcongsan.vn)