Dr Dinh Thi My Loan, amember of the Advisory Committee on international trade policies, toldVNA reporters on the sidelines of a Nov. 4 seminar on negotiation of TPPheld in Hanoi that Vietnam’s participation in the TPP would offer localbusinesses opportunities to expand to markets that are partners of TPP –which is seen as a bloc with a strong economy and an important role.
With strong commitments to market opening including exemptionof many import tariffs and opening the door for services, the TPP wouldalso be able to help Vietnam increase exports and services andcomplete its legal system.
“Once being signed, the TPP willsurely have an effect on the business prospects of the country’seconomic sectors and branches,” Loan said.
According to theexpert, the TPP is a comprehensive free trade deal that sets higherrequirements than WTO, so besides more opportunities, it also poses morechallenges to Vietnamese firms.
Therefore, consultancy fornegotiations needed more attention in order to prevent negative impactson made-in-Vietnam products as their competitiveness is still low, shesaid.
Vietnam is conducting negotiations on the TPP withSingapore , Brunei , Australia , the US , New Zealand , Chile andPeru . The TPP is expected to stimulate growth for businesses thatoperate in the Asian-Pacific region, which is seen as one of the world’smost dynamic markets.
According to the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI), Vietnam, together with ASEAN, has to datesigned and implemented FTAs with six major partners, including theASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), the ASEAN-RoK Free TradeAgreement (AKFTA), the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership(AJCEP); the ASEAN-Indian Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) and theASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).
Generally,FTAs bring big benefits in terms of export. However, Vietnam ’sexports are mainly raw materials with low or zero tariffs and exportvalues are not high, leading to less improvement in the country’s tradedeficit with FTA partners./.