Workers make garment products at Hung Long Garment and Service Joint Stock Company in Hung Yen Province’s My Hao District. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has createda favourable corridor for trade between the two sides and brought new impetusto economic cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, Nguyen Van Thao, head of the Mission of Vietnam to the EU, has said.
Thao, who is also Vietnamese Ambassador to Beligum and Luxembourg, told Vietnam New Agency in an interview on prospects for further promoting the EVFTA in the future.
He said the agreement tookeffect on August 1 last yer at a hard time when EU countries were veryheavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the pandemic has continued to break out in Southeast Asian countries.Vietnam is not an exception. The country has also suffered big impacted by thepandemic.
However, trade turnover between Vietnam and the EU still reached 50 billion USD last year, and grew by 4.5 percent in the last five months of 2020.
This was anencouraging result given the context of 2020 when the EU’s Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) declined by 6.2 percent, he said.
In addition, the EU's economy shrank 0.4 percent in the first quarter ofthis year, but two-way trade turnover still increased by 15 percent. Thus, Thaosaid, it affirmed the strong effect of the EVFTA.
According tothe Ambassador, this positive outcome has shown that Vietnamese products havemet the high standards of the EU market. At a time when the EU is facing manydifficulties, Vietnamese goods can still enter this market, contributing tomaintaining and diversifying supply chains in the context of global supplychain disruptions.
Thaoemphasised that there’s huge potential between Vietnam and the EU to tap.
EU countrieswant to import agro- forestry- fishery products outside the bloc at a value ofmore than 150 billion USD per year, while Vietnam's export turnover of theseitems to the EU is about 5 billion USD, he said, adding that the incentives fromthe EVFTA with a tariff rate of zero percent, and harmonious trade conditionswill help increase the country’s export turnover to the EU.
However, theambasador said there is still much work to be done in the coming time.
It issnecessary for the Vietnamese government to continue to exchange and negotiate withthe EU to perfect standards, regulations and mutual recognition to help the twosides' goods penetrate more deeply into each other's markets, he said.
Thao saidthat trade and technical barriers need to be removed. It is essential for the Vietnamese side to push for early ratification of the EU-Vietnam InvestmentProtection Agreement (EVIPA) because trade and investmenthave a very close relationship. The agreement has now been signed and isawaiting ratification by the parliaments of EU member states.
EVIPA will promotetwo-way investment with high-tech and innovative services, the ambassador said,adding that applying new European technologies will help increase the competitivenessfor Vietnamese products and enhance trade growth.
Referring tothe skills that Vietnamese businesses need to supplement to stay firmly in theEU "playground" in the near future, Thao stressed that more capitalshould be poured in to improve the competitiveness for their products in termsof quality and scale to meet the high standards of the European market, whileensuring a sustainable supply for European customers.
In addition,it is a must for Vietnamese enterprises to learn about business opportunitiesas well as the legal system of the EU, the customs, and consumption habits ofEuropean people, the Ambassador said.
He also underscoredthe importance of coordination among Vietnamese businesses, saying if they work together, it will create a higher competitiveness in terms of quantity,negotiation, and building a network of relationships in Europe.
Only bydoing so, can Vietnamese businesses succeed in the coming time and take fulladvanges of what the EVFTA brings about, the ambassador said./.
