A wood product factory in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) The UKCA was created to replace the CE (Conformité Européene - European Conformity) mark of the European Union after the UK left the bloc in 2020.
Though the new mark already took effect on January 1, 2021, the UK still accepts the CE mark during the transition process so that businesses can have time to adapt to new requirements. However, the UKCA will be compulsory for most of industrial products exported to the country from January 1, 2023.
Addressing the seminar, Vietnam’s Trade Counsellor in the UK Nguyen Canh Cuong said the timely adaptation to the UKCA marking requirements is highly necessary for Vietnamese firms to not miss business chances in the major import market of industrial products.
Vietnam has made up just a small part of the UK’s industrial imports, but thanks to the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and changes in global supply chains, opportunities for Vietnamese companies to expand their market share are considerable, he noted.
The UK is one of Vietnam’s leading partners in Europe. Bilateral trade has been growing strongly in recent years, rising by 10.2% from 2020 to over 6.6 billion USD in 2021.
Industrial products, mainly mobile phones and components, computers, machinery, equipment, tools and steel, accounted for 44.2%, 2.54 billion USD, of Vietnam’ exports to this market last year, according to Ta Hoang Linh, Director of the European - American Market Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
He held that updating enterprises on the UKCA is greatly crucial for capitalising on advantages under the UKVFTA and grasping opportunities generated by the thriving diplomatic and trade ties, as well as the UK’s high import demand.
At the event, Emily Beis and Erin Fair, experts from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, provided information about the UKCA mark and fielded questions from Vietnamese enterprises.
Erin Fair said as Vietnam is a major exporter of the UK, the UK Government attaches importance to giving instructions to help Vietnamese companies meet the UKCA marking requirements.
The UK side is ready to hold virtual and face-to-face workshops in Vietnam to provide more assistance this November, she added./.
VNA
