Enterprises enjoy more advantages to boost market expansion from EVFTA

The assessment is based on a recent survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) after the two-year enforcement of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

A survey conducted by the VCCI with more than 500 local businesses shows that after 2 years of implementing EVFTA, it has obtained quite positive results.

4 out of 10 enterprises reported having getting certain benefits from the Agreement, including preferential tariffs for goods exported to the EU or for goods imported from the EU.

In addition, a large number of businesses said they have enjoyed new opportunities from the EVFTA in terms of connectivity and joint ventures with partners, as well as having more orders, more revenue and profit from participating in activities in the supply chain in order to serve import and export activities for the EU market.

According to Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the WTO Integration Centre under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), compared with many other free trade agreements, it is clear that the EVFTA has brought very early and very significant opportunities for local businesses.

“One of our assessments is the driving force for businesses who are interested in how to take advantage of tariff incentives, as well as other opportunities and benefits from the EVFTA. This is a free trade agreement between Vietnam and an EU partner, in which we have never had a free trade agreement before," Thu Trang said.

However, economic experts also noted that in the coming time, in the context of the world economy's difficulties and fluctuations, businesses must capitalize on opportunities from the EVFTA as well as other FTAs in a bid to promote trade, import and export activities.

In line with this, businesses need to change their competitiveness based on quality, brands, models and other factors that are advantageous thanks to the EVFTA to meet the new requirements of the EU market.

If done well, this will create momentum for long-term development, and ensure market stability. Responding properly to the requirements of the EU market, also means that we can also meet the requirements of nearly all other development partners. Therefore, this will be an opportunity not only in this market, but also in other markets, Trang went on to explain.

According to Cao Xuan Phong, head of the International Legal Research Department under the Institute of Legal Science, it is necessary to fine-tune laws and institutions in the context of the implementation of EVFTA and other new-generation FTAs in the coming time, in order to make effective use of advantages of the agreements.

In order to create the best conditions for businesses and serve the implementation of Vietnam's commitments in the FTAs, speeding up the development of legal documents is a key point in the upcoming development process.

Accordingly, it is imperative to have experimental legal frameworks to learn from and more widely carry out FTAs, through which local businesses need to become more involved in the entire legal document drafting process, Phong added.