Ambassador RobertHolleyman, President and CEO of C&M International, LLC, told Vietnam News Agency reporters on the sidelinesof the dialogue that Vietnam has a large, growing population, as well as aglobal footprint in trade.
“Vietnam’sleadership in hosting APEC this year is a big signal that Vietnam is a keyplayer in wanting to be integrated in the Asia-Pacific economy and in takingsteps to ensure that it is integrated with other economies in the region,” he said.
“The effortsby Vietnam to bring the parties together in this host year and talk about thefuture of trade in Vietnam is important and it’s great to see what has been done byVietnam,” he added.
Echoing Robert Holleyman’sviews, David HSU, Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Foreign Trade underthe Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (China), highlighted Vietnam’s youngpopulation, diverse natural resources, favourable geological location and hardworking labour as advantages for the country to participate in the tradeagreements.
Benefits and how to maximise these benefits
According to Bui Thanh Son,Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam has so far negotiatedand signed 12 free trade agreements, and is negotiating four others.
[APEC economies share experience in engaging in RTAs/FTAs]
Joining trade agreementscan help Vietnam access foreign markets, seek long-term and stable markets for localgoods, particularly agro-forestry-fishery products, footwear and electronics,and improve competitiveness of Vietnamese businesses, he said.
Robert Holleyman said “the data is clear that the agreements that makeit easier for Vietnamese exporters to do business around the world willincrease the ability of growth and jobs in Vietnam.”
Integrating into the global community should be very positive,particularly for a country like Vietnam, through liberalising and opening upnew trade, he said.
Marie Sherylyn D Aquia, Chair of the APECCommittee for Trade and Investment (CTI), Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippines, said FTAs and RTAs set a lot of rules regarding trade facilitationlike customs procedures, rules of origins as well as how to treat technicalbarriers to trade and liberalise certain goods and services.
“These rules are important and useful forbusinesses to make plans. And it’s also good, because RTAs/FTAs talk aboutmarket access, keeping your economy open. So having an open economy is veryuseful for consumers and businesses, and for goods to enter countries freely,” she said.
Marie Sherylyn D Aquia said businesses shouldknow that there are preferences available that they andexporters can use.
David HSU also suggested promoting theinvolvement of the business circle in negotiations of these agreements.
Challenges
Regarding challenges faced by Vietnamwhen joining trade agreements, Deputy Minister Son underscoreduncertainties of the global economy, further explaining that many economieshave still used both tariff andnon-tariff tools to protect their domestic markets, thus hindering efforts towardstrade liberalisation and market opening.
David HSU pointed to Vietnam’s weaknesses inhigh-tech and high-quality production. Besides, such sectors as agriculture,processing and material supply have also faced a range of difficulties.
Robert Holleyman said challenges for Vietnam include ensuring that the country hasan open economy that allows it to fully participate in these agreements.-VNA