EVFTA - A catalyst for Vietnamese businesses: diplomat
Hanoi (VNA) - The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has created
a favourable corridor for trade between the two sides and brought new impetus
to 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 took
effect on August 1 last yer at a hard time when EU countries were very
heavily 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 the
pandemic.
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 an
encouraging result given the context of 2020 when the EU’s Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) declined by 6.2 percent, he said.
In addition, the EU's economy shrank 0.4 percent in the first quarter of
this year, but two-way trade turnover still increased by 15 percent. Thus, Thao
said, it affirmed the strong effect of the EVFTA.
According to
the Ambassador, this positive outcome has shown that Vietnamese products have
met the high standards of the EU market. At a time when the EU is facing many
difficulties, Vietnamese goods can still enter this market, contributing to
maintaining and diversifying supply chains in the context of global supply
chain disruptions.
Thao
emphasised that there’s huge potential between Vietnam and the EU to tap.
EU countries
want to import agro- forestry- fishery products outside the bloc at a value of
more than 150 billion USD per year, while Vietnam's export turnover of these
items to the EU is about 5 billion USD, he said, adding that the incentives from
the EVFTA with a tariff rate of zero percent, and harmonious trade conditions
will help increase the country’s export turnover to the EU.
However, the
ambasador said there is still much work to be done in the coming time.
It iss
necessary for the Vietnamese government to continue to exchange and negotiate with
the EU to perfect standards, regulations and mutual recognition to help the two
sides' goods penetrate more deeply into each other's markets, he said.
Thao said
that trade and technical barriers need to be removed. It is essential for the Vietnamese side to push for early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment
Protection Agreement (EVIPA) because trade and investment
have a very close relationship. The agreement has now been signed and is
awaiting ratification by the parliaments of EU member states.
EVIPA will promote
two-way investment with high-tech and innovative services, the ambassador said,
adding that applying new European technologies will help increase the competitiveness
for Vietnamese products and enhance trade growth.
Referring to
the skills that Vietnamese businesses need to supplement to stay firmly in the
EU "playground" in the near future, Thao stressed that more capital
should be poured in to improve the competitiveness for their products in terms
of quality and scale to meet the high standards of the European market, while
ensuring a sustainable supply for European customers.
In addition,
it is a must for Vietnamese enterprises to learn about business opportunities
as well as the legal system of the EU, the customs, and consumption habits of
European people, the Ambassador said.
He also underscored
the 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 by
doing so, can Vietnamese businesses succeed in the coming time and take full
advanges of what the EVFTA brings about, the ambassador said./.