Nguyen Canh Cuong, Trade Consellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in France (Source: VNA) Trade between Vietnam and France will benefit from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (VEFTA) thanks to market opening and cuts in almost all taxes, said Nguyen Canh Cuong, Trade Consellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in France.
According to him, bilateral trade ties have grown remarkably over the past years, with Vietnam enjoying trade surplus for the five consecutive years. Vietnam ’s export turnover to France records an average annual growth of 5-7 percent, reaching 2-2.5 billion EUR a year, while its imports from the European country are valued at around 1 billion EUR.
The market share of Vietnam ’s traditional products in France is able to be expanded once the FTA is signed, Cuong stated.
At present, many Vietnamese products with good quality are facing fierce competition with similar products of several countries which are enjoying the EU’s trade incentives. Specifically, Vietnam is the world’s second largest rice exporter, but its rice cannot compete with Thai rice in terms of price in France as taxes imposed on Thai rice are lower than those on Vietnam .
Therefore, the VEFTA is expected to help reduce many taxes the EU imposes on Vietnam ’s products to zero, the official said.
He went on to say that France has big demand of seafood and agricultural products, while Vietnamese seafood has better met strict requirements of European consumers and seafood import management agencies. As such, the value and market share of Vietnamese seafood exported to France will increase significantly.
The VEFTA is a good chance for Vietnam to speed up its economic restructuring efficiently, as joining such a big agreement requires the country to reorganise its economy with a focus on making advantageous products and gradually reducing those with high production costs.
The agreement will also help encourage France’s investments in Vietnam since products made in Vietnam and then exported to France with tariff preferences will bring about more profits to French businesses than those produced in France or the EU, Cuong added.-VNA
