Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh (R) and representatives from 10 member states of CPTPP at the signing ceremony of the deal (Source: VNA) Dong Nai (VNA) – Authorities ofthe southern province of Dong Nai are making efforts to help local firms take fulladvantage of free trade agreements (FTAs).
The newly-signed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP) will take effect from 2019. It is hoped to create more opportunities for Vietnamesegoods to access foreign markets.
However, enterprises in Dong Nai, especiallysmall and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have yet to build suitabledevelopment strategies to tap advantages from globalisation.
According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning andInvestment Pham Viet Phuong, local authorities need to roll out a specificroadmap to give sector-based support, thus tapping opportunities from FTAs.
Phuong said most domestic enterprises operating in Dong Nai do not havespecific knowledge about the CPTPP or other FTAs.
Local authorities established a steering committee for economic development,which will focus on studying the CPTPP, thus devising strategies for groups of enterprisesand sectors.
Meetings between experts and localenterprises will be arranged, helping firms get insights into trade barriers appliedby the deal’s member countries, Phuong said.
Experts said that after the CPTPP is signed, Vietnam’s agriculture is forecastto be put at the greatest disadvantage because of its weak competitiveness,while the support industry has the biggest change to participate in globalvalue chains.
If enterprises don’t have developmentstrategies and fail to meet technical standards set by their partners, their productswill not be competitive, they said.-VNA
VNA
