Vietnam, India seek ways to remove obstacles to trade ties
Vietnam and India discussed specific measures to remove obstacles to trade and investment cooperation between their businesses during the fourth meeting of the Joint Sub-committee on Trade in Hanoi on January 23.
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| (File photo: VNA) |
The event was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung and his Indian counterpart Anup Wadhawan.
Delegates compared notes on orientations and solutions to tighten economic bonds, expand export markets of each other, and take advantage of their strength and resources for the development of the respective countries.
In his remarks, Hung called on India not to impose anti-subsidy measures against stainless steel pipes and copper wire rods imported from Vietnam, and consider no expansion of anti-dumping measures when they are expired.
He also urged India to issue official documents allowing the import of Vietnamese dragon fruits and speed up the process paving the way for other fresh fruits of Vietnam, firstly longan, pomelo, rambutan and durian, to enter the South Asian market.
The official voiced his concerns over India’s imposition of the Minimum Import Price (MIP) on pepper and suggested the country soon take back the measure and abide by regulations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).
He proposed India further support Vietnamese delegations joining trade promotion activities in the country, encourage local enterprises to visit Vietnam to scope out the market and invest in the areas of their strength, and assist Vietnam’s budget carrier Vietjet Air to open direct flights between the two countries.
For his part, Anup raised issues of India’s interest, such as the grant of licences to facilities processing buffalo meat which will be exported to Vietnam.
The free trade agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India was also put on the table.
Statistics show that trade between Vietnam and India reached 10.7 billion USD in 2018, up 39 percent from 2017, with export value hitting 6.5 billion USD, up 75 percent, and import revenue up 5.2 percent.
India has, to date, run 208 FDI projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of about 878 million USD, ranking 26th out of 129 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian nation.
