The World Trade Organisation is known to have opened up opportunities in terms of goods market, services market, capital market and labour market. Though Vietnam’s exports have increased year on year, the figure is still modest to compare with regional countries. This is partly due to the fact that Vietnamese goods and services have been treated unfairly in import markets. This discrimination will not occur after Vietnam joins the WTO.

Vietnamese rice, for instance, cannot be sold in the EU market as it is not subject to preferential tax for farm products. Apart from rice, Vietnam has many other world-class farm products such as pepper, coffee, cashew and tea. To be sure, expanding export markets will help Vietnamese farmers increasingly improve their income.

As a point of fact, many non-agricultural commodities will also fare better. Quotas for textile and garment exports, for example, will be removed after Vietnam joins the WTO.

To lure investment, Vietnam has renewed itself by creating an open and transparent legal framework to protect enterprises’ interest with the aim of encouraging enterprises to boost production and business. The State has no longer persisted in its command economy policy. Instead, it has encouraged craft associations and enterprises to cooperate in sharpening their competitive edge.

Joining the WTO, Vietnam has to build and amend around 100 laws. It has just finished one fourth of the work so far, but many foreign projects from the US, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore and multi-national groups are already operational in Vietnam.

Another advantage is that as a WTO member, Vietnam can have a strong say in global trade issues. There is a growing tendency for settlement of trade disputes within the WTO rather than through international referees or courts. The WTO’s decision on January 9 to favour Japan in a bilateral dispute over antidumping duties the US applied to Japanese carbon steel products and ball bearings was a case in point. As a rule, the more Vietnam exports its products, the more trade disputes the country will have. But disputes will be settled fairly in the WTO playing-field.

However, as a WTO member, Vietnam will have to overcome a lot of challenges. Vietnamese enterprises must follow WTO regulations and Vietnamese goods will face fiercer competition. This will cause great impacts on Vietnam if the country has not yet been well prepared. Some economic sectors may break down after the influx of foreign goods. Now that the State has created a larger level playing-field, the ball is now in enterprises’ court.

Joining the WTO is a good opportunity. If it is not well prepared to grasp it, Vietnam will lose out. Only by overcoming challenges can the country steadily move forwards to grasp new opportunities.