Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Joiningin new-generation agreements like the European Union-Vietnam Free TradeAgreements (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progress Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has brought great economic benefits toVietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Last year, exportturnover of Vietnamese goods to the European market and CPTPP member countries reachedmore than 40 billion USD and 38.7 billion USD, respectively.
These figures were revealed bythe MoIT in a report on the implementation of the CPTPP and the EVFTA which has been submitted to the Prime Minister, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reported.
The ministry said that exportsto the European Union and CPTPP countries still achieved positive resultsamidst the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Accordingly, two-way trade between Vietnam and EU member countries obtained55.4 billion USD, down 1.8 percent compared to that of 2019.
The country exported goodsworth 40.1 billion USD to the EU, while it imported 15.3 billion USD, leadingto a trade surplus of 24.8 billion USD last year with the bloc.
The biggest importers of Vietnamese goods among European countries includeBelgium (2.3 billion USD), Germany (6.6 billion USD), the Netherlands (6.9billion USD), France (nearly 3.3 billion USD) and Italy (3.1 billion USD).
According to the MoIT, goods with great export value to the EU inlude footwear,plastic products, rice, textiles and garment and farm produce.
Along with the export growththanks to the EVFTA, Vietnam's export turnover to CPTPP members also rose in2020 compared to the previous year, it said.
Total import-export turnoverbetween Vietnam and other CPTPP member countries reached 79 billion USD lastyear, an year-on year increase of 1.9 percent. Vietnam exported goods worth38.7 billion USD to these countries and spent 40.3 billion USD on imports,resulting in a trade deficit of 1.6 billion USD last year.
The country enjoyed a tradesurplus with some countries namely Canada and Mexico with a year-on-year riseof 11.8 percent and 12.1 percent, respectively.
Key products for exports to the CPTPP member countries are aquatic products,textile and garments, footwear, pepper, and wooden products.
Vietnam's participation in new-generationtrade agreements has helped the country attract more foreign directinvestment (FDI), the MoIT said.
In 2020, FDI investment from CPTPP member countries into the country hit 11.6 billion USD, up 23.4 percent compared to that in 2019 while investmentcapital of EU enterprises into Vietnam stood at 1.4 billion USD, down 6.7percent over the same period last year.
Despite the fact that Vietnamese businesses have initially taken opportunitiesfrom EVFTA and CPTPP, there still much room to improve.
According to a survey by theVietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, only 29 percent of the enterprisesthat exports goods to CPTPP member countries have enjoyed preferential tariffsas regulated by the agreement.
Regarding to the EVFTA, only 38 out of 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam run import-export activities with EU countries.
Thus, it was necessary forVietnamse enterprises to make more efforts to exploit the advantage of thenew-generation trade agreements, the VCCI said./.
