Vietnam, EU reach agreement on free trade deal

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang informed that after the 14th negotiating session took place from July 13-17, the minister on Tuesday had a teleconference with the European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom and reached agreement in principle on the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) negotiations.

According to Minister Hoang, in October 2010, the Vietnamese Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission agreed to launch FTA negotiations between the two after the completion of necessary technical works. On that basis, the two sides officially declared the start of the EVFTA negotiations on June 26, 2012. With a positive approach and flexibility, as well as attention and direction from leaders of the two sides, the negotiations have progressed positively. After almost three years, with 14 negotiation rounds and a number of intercessionals at the Ministerial, Chief Negotiators' and technical level, Vietnam and the EU have officially reached an agreement in principle on the EVFTA negotiations.

The EVFTA is expected to provide optimum benefits for the people and business communities of both sides.

The agreement includes trade in goods (texts of general obligations and market access commitments), rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade in services, investment, trade remedies, competition, SOEs, government procurement, intellectual property (including geographical indications), sustainable development, co-operation and capacity building, and legal-institutional issues.

The Vietnamese minister also said that the EVFTA negotiations were launched and ended in the context of the growing bilateral relations, especially in investment and trade. Thanks to the highly complementary nature of trade between Vietnam and the EU, the EVFTA is expected to bring positive impacts for both Vietnam and the EU, among which trade and economic benefits stand out, the minister stressed.

Nearly all tariffs (99%) on goods traded between the two economies will be removed under the agreement. This is the highest commitments that Vietnam has made in an FTA signed so far.

Besides eliminating tariffs, the agreement will also create new market access opportunities in services and investment. Vietnam has agreed to liberalise trade in financial services, telecommunications, transport, and postal and courier services. On investment, Vietnam will open its market to the EU by removing or easing limitations on the manufacturing of food products and beverages, as well as in the non-food sectors.

The agreement will also improve the protection in Vietnam of geographical indications (GIs) representing EU flagship agricultural products. Vietnamese GIs too will be recognised as such in the EU, providing the adequate framework for further promoting imports of quality products such as Moc Chau tea or Buon Ma Thuot coffee.

This agreement is the first of its kind that the EU has concluded with a developing country and the second FTA between the EU and an ASEAN country after the conclusion of the Singapore FTA in 2014, said Ambassador-Head of the EU Delegation in Vietnam Franz Jessen.

He also affirmed they would to continue settling remaining technical issues and finalising the legal text to soon approve the agreement.

The EU currently is the largest trading partner and is one of the two largest export markets of Vietnam. Two-way trade increased from US$4.1 billion in 2000 to more than US$36.8 billion in 2014, up 9% compared to 2013. Vietnam's major exports to the EU include footwear, garments, textiles, coffee, furniture, and seafood. The EU is also among the largest investors in Vietnam.

(Source: Nhandan Online)