TPP expected to continue despite US withdrawal: VCCI
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, whose fate seems uncertain after the US’ withdrawal, will certainly continue in another form, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has said.
Vietnam has a lot of expectations from the TPP and the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) as they open large markets and create significant opportunities for trade growth and for improving domestic economic institutions.
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With the TPP on shaky legs, Vietnam is now looking more towards the EVFTA, which is expected to come into force in 2018.
Vietnam should focus on three measures to grasp opportunities from the EVFTA, which include hastening the signing and approval of the EVFTA, continuing institutional reforms, and improving its competitiveness and business environment, Loc said.
The trade deal will help connect the Southeast Asian country of nearly 90 million people to the European Union (EU), which has an estimated population of 500 million. The market size would be nearly 1 billion if the ASEAN markets are included.
Vietnam’s export to the EU in the first two months of 2017 reached US$5.4 billion, up 13.2%, while import from these markets rose by 24.6% to US$1.7 billion.
To date, Vietnam has signed 12 bilateral and multilateral trade deals, 10 of which have already come into force. Four other Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are under negotiation, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA, FTA with Israel and with European Free Trade Association.
