At the 16th round of ASEAN-India trade negotiation that took place in New Delhi from May 9-11, the Vietnamese delegation joined officials from India’s Ministries of Trade and Foreign Affairs, representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat and delegations from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand in negotiation with the aim of signing the ASEAN-India FTA.

The Vietnamese delegation proposed lowering import taxes on coffee, pepper and tea, which had stayed high to reduce large trade deficit from ASEAN. The proposal won support from other ASEAN countries and was discussed with the Indian side at the negotiation.

The two sides agreed to begin tax exemption as from January 1, 2008 to be completed in 10 years. New ASEAN members, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam will be given preferential regulations on tax reduction and exemption.