Speakers at the “APEC Workshop on Free Trade Agreement Utilisation for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)” held on June 7 in Ho Chi Minh City discuss how MSMEs can join global value chains.(Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA)– Seeking solutions to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) takeadvantages of free trade agreements (FTAs) was a topic of a workshop held bythe Ministry of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City on June 7.
Pham Quynh Mai, deputy general director of the MoIT’s Department ofMultilateral Trade Policy noted that MSMEs account for over 97 percent of all enterprisesand employ over half of the workforce across APEC economies.
They contribute significantly to economicgrowth, with MSMEs’ share of GDP ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent inmost APEC economies, she added, affirming MSMEs were the engines of growth andinnovation in the APEC region.
However, only a limited percentage of MSMEs engage in overseas activities due to limited awareness of how tomake full use of FTAs to join regional and global supply chains.
She heldthat trade facilitation, partnerships and capacity-building activities areneeded for MSMEs in APEC-member economies so they can take advantage of FTAs.
Inaddition, one of the key pillars under an APEC initiative is improvingknowledge sharing about trade facilitation, business support, partnerships, andcapacity-building activities for MSMEs, according to Mai.
MSMEs need to study inclusive business models,examples of successful export MSMEs, and lessons extracted from successfulexperiences in internationalisation and cooperation among economies.
Vietnam can benefit from its strategicgeographical location in a dynamic Asia-Pacific region and its proximity toglobal manufacturing value chains, participants said at the workshop.
Sixty-five percent of the country’s populationis under 35 years old, and there are also affordable labour costs as well as anemerging middle class.
However, they also warned that costs and risksof international integration can be significant for Vietnamese MSMEs, and assuch, improving the overall business environment continues to be key.
Dr Rajan Sudesh Ratna, economic affairs officerat the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, said FTAsprovided MSMEs with access to markets, creating value chains, bringing in FDIinflow and technologies, reducing trade costs, and enhancing linkages amongindustries.
FTAs also provide technical assistance, capacitybuilding and assist FTA member economies in improving their overall capacity tobenefit from trade, harmonising procedures and rules of different agreementsamong common economies, he said.
The workshop also discussed trade in services,including issues such as market access, schedules of commitments, and mostfavoured nation (MFN) treatment in addition to intellectual property andcompetition.
On June 8, the workshop focused on successfuluses of FTAs by APEC member economies.
The outcomes of the workshop will be reported tothe APEC SME Working Group for consideration and will serve as input for theworking group to develop action plans to facilitate MSMEs’ integration inglobal value chains.
Last year, leaders of 21 APEC-member economiesmet in Da Nang to discuss ways to promote regional trade agreements and movetowards the realisation of a Free Trade Area in the Asia-Pacific region.-VNA
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