Business

Vietnam is big winner of free trade deals

The clinched free trade agreements (FTAs) has opened the door wider for Vietnamese goods to enter foreign markets, helping the country improve trade balance with its trade partners.
Vietnam is big winner of free trade deals ảnh 1The clinched free trade agreements (FTAs) has opened the door wider for Vietnamese goods to enter foreign markets. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi(VNA) – The clinched free trade agreements (FTAs) has opened the door wider forVietnamese goods to enter foreign markets, helping the country improve tradebalance with its trade partners.

Before 2007, Vietnam was involved in only two free trade deals as member of theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): the ASEAN-China and the ASEAN-Republic of Korea (RoK) pacts.

After that, the countrysigned several more deals, including those with Japan and Chile.

Particularly, in 2015, Vietnam concluded negotiations with the US in theTrans-Pacific Partnership, with the EU on the Vietnam-EU free trade agreementand with Russia on the Vietnam- Eurasia Economic Union free trade agreement.The same year, the country concluded bilateral FTA talks with the RoK.

Vietnam is one ofthe countries with the most FTAs in the world. It has signed a total of 17trade deals, of which 10 have become effective, 2 have been signed but are yetto take effect, while negotiations have concluded on 2 deals and are on the wayfor three others. 

According to Ngo Chung Khanh, deputy head of the Multilateral Trade PolicyDepartment under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, earlier, 60-70 percent ofthe Vietnamese firms had business relations with those in the East Asia.However, they suffered heavy loss, resulting in trade deficit of nearly 70billion USD in 2007.

The situation has been improved as free trade pacts help set up sound tradeties with other regions and they serve as a boon for local products to break ininto foreign markets. While Vietnam exported only 5.4 billion USD worth ofproducts in 1995, it gained 48 billion USD from shipments in 2007 and thefigure hit 213 billion USD in 2017.

Aside from exportturnover, the FTAs also brought other benefits, with the most remarkable onebeing ensuring fairer access to resources.

Many FTAs,especially new-generation ones, pay attention to fairness, which forces Vietnamto act to improve domestic business environment towards fair treatment betweenState-owned and private enterprises.

The trade deals alsoassist with efforts to improve infrastructure, push forward administrativereforms and remove market obstacles.-VNA
VNA
#clinched free trade agreements #Vietnamese goods #trade balance #Trans-Pacific Partnership #Vietnam-EU free trade agreement #Vietnam- Eurasia Economic Union free trade agreement #FTA talks #17 trade deals #business environment #Vietnam News Agency #Vietnamplus
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