EVFTA helps buffer economic downturn impact: The Business Times

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Given the COVID-19 epidemic, theEU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which entered into force in August2020, has helped to boost two-way trade and buffer the impact of theeconomic downturn, according to an article posted on October 13 by The Business Timesof Singapore.

The article quoted the European Chamber of Commerce inVietnam as saying that trade between Vietnam and the EU amounted to 27 billion USD fromJanuary to June this year, an increase of 18 percent annually and a remarkableachievement in the midst of a global pandemic.

Last month, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) wrote in areport that it expects Vietnam's economy to expand 3.8 percent in 2021. Notably,this was a sizable downgrade from April's estimate of a 6.7 percent growth.This, however, still places Vietnam above the regional average of 3.1 percent.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

According to the article, the EVFTA, the second one that the EU hasconcluded with an ASEAN country after Singapore, is not the only major freetrade deal that is driving Vietnam's growth. In the last few years, a string ofFTAs have come into force in Vietnam, including the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Officials in Vietnam said this ispart of the country's long-term drive to build a modern and market-orientedeconomy, and signs show that this strategy is bearing fruit.

The author continued citing a World Bank report, titledVietnam: Deepening International Integration and Implementing the EVFTA, as saying"In the case of Vietnam, the benefits have been clear in terms of high andconsistent economic growth and a large reduction in poverty levels".

The article concluded that as the coronavirus pandemicsubsides and international borders gradually reopen, Vietnam is eyeing an evengreater wave of trade with the 27-member EU bloc. The ADB's outlook for Vietnam'seconomy in 2022 sees it returning close to its pre-COVID growth levels at 6.5percent./.

VNA