Vietnam, EU optimise opportunities from free trade deal
A negotiation delegation from the EU is on a working visit to Vietnam to raise public awareness of how to optimise the benefits and opportunities from the freshly-concluded free trade agreement between two sides (EVFTA).
He said the EU and Vietnamese experts will review the agreement to ensure all of its contents are legally built.
The conclusion of the EVFTA is a significant stride in the bilateral economic, trade and investment relations, he said, describing the deal as an inclusive, high-quality one that balances benefits for both the EU and Vietnam.
Regarding EU’s trade policy for ASEAN and Vietnam in the coming time, he said, the EU is running a trade deficit with many countries . Therefore, the union is seeking opportunities to expand its markets and promote import-export activities in the global arena.
He highlighted ASEAN as an attractive destination to the EU’s supply chain, but the negotiations for an FTA between EU and ASEAN have not been successful, adding that EU has to implement its strategies to negotiate an FTA with each member in the association.
After Singapore and Vietnam, the EU will continue to conduct bilateral FTA negotiations with other ASEAN member states such as the Philippines and Malaysia, he revealed.
The EU is currently the second biggest trade partner of Vietnam with two-way trade reaching over US$$41.2 billion.
As of 2015, the EU run 1,809 investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of US$23.16 billion.