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Vietnam, RoK sign free trade agreement

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have officially signed a free trade agreement (FTA) after over two years of negotiations.
Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have officially signed a freetrade agreement (FTA) after over two years of negotiations.

With 17 chapters, 208 articles, 15 appendices and one agreementspecifying commitment delivery, the deal was signed by Minister ofIndustry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and RoK Minister of Trade, Industry andEnergy Yoon Sang-jick in Hanoi on May 5.

It coverscommodity and service trade, investment, intellectual property, foodhygiene and plant quarantine, rules of origin, customs facilitation,trade protection, technical barriers in trade, e-commerce, competition,economic cooperation and legal regulations.

Underthe agreement, the RoK will help Vietnam improve its capacity to developand enforce policies and competitiveness in agro-forestry-fisheries,electronic technology, petrochemical and oil refinery and supportindustry.

As the first agreement signed among thosewhose negotiations concluded last year, the Vietnam – RoK FTA isexpected to have positive repercussions across all aspects in Vietnam,including generating jobs and reducing poverty.

TheRoK is currently the biggest investor in Vietnam with pledges totaling38 billion USD in more than 42,000 projects as of March 2015, accordingto government data.

The two countries target 70 billion USD in trade by 2020. The 2014 figure hit 30.3 billion USD.-VNA
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