“With the goal of national industrialisation and modernisation and international economic integration, Vietnam plans to accelerate the negotiation and signing of free trade agreements (FTAs) with top trade partners such as the European Union (EU), the United States (US) and new-generation agreements like Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The negotiation and signing of many FTAs provide favourable opportunities for Vietnam, but also poses potential challenges,” said Dr Ngo Duc Manh, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the National Assembly at a workshop entitled “Free Trade Agreements and Competitiveness of Vietnamese Enterprises – Expectations and Lessons Learned” hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in collaboration with the Foreign Affairs Commission and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
According to Dr Manh, the biggest challenge is the incomplete, inappropriate legal system for the implementation of international commitments. So, Vietnam needs to consolidate its legal system, amend laws on intellectual property, labour and environment, and internally codify new international commitments.
Remarking on negative effects of signed FTAs on the Vietnamese economy, Mr Tran Huu Huynh, Chairman of the International Trade Policy Advisory Committee (INTAC), said current key issues are that businesses have yet to take full advantage of tariff benefits from FTAs; exports increase but added value is not high; and labour productivity increasing slowly is among others. Particularly, the gravest concern is the completed formation of barriers set by member countries signing FTAs with Vietnam and the emerging presence of more vulnerable industries. For instance, agricultural products are being fiercely competed in the home market. He said although many domestic companies do not grasp updated information, fail to meet conditions of rules of origin or complex preferential C/O granting processes and procedures.
In addition to the FTAs signed, Vietnam is negotiating six new FTAs. Huynh said new-generation FTAs cover wider ranges, bring in greater export benefits, opportunities to access quality investment sources, and opportunities for intensive institutional reforms. Especially, the penetration degree of new FTAs is deeper, i.e., eliminating 90-100 percent of import duties on goods. The TPP Agreement aims to remove 100 percent of import duties. But, apart from opportunities, new FTAs also set excessive standards, particularly on vulnerable subjects (farmers, agricultural enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises – SMEs, etc.) and socially sensitive subjects (patients, employees, etc.) In addition to meeting requirements to be entitled to preferential tariff treatments that new FTAs set out like rules of origin and certificates of origin, Vietnamese enterprises often fail to meet eligibilities.
Huynh recommended: “To prepare for bigger games, with new FTAs to be signed, not only businesses but authorities also need to draw lessons from the execution of FTAs Vietnam signed and lessons from the utilisation of FTAs’ advantages from other countries, especially in the protection of vulnerable groups, protecting fair, stable competition market and performing radical and aggressive institutional reform.”
Dr Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said Vietnam should also focus on harmonising integration directions with institutional reform, infrastructure perfection, human resources development and social security system construction. It also needs to build and perfect economic institutions to meet the commitments of TPP Agreement, Vietnam – EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
So far, Vietnam has become a full member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), signed eight FTAs and negotiated another six FTAs (TPP, EVFTA, RCEP, Vietnam and Russia – Belarus – Kazakhstan Customs Union Free Trade Agreement, Vietnam – European Free Trade Association Free Trade Agreement and Vietnam – South Korea Free Trade Agreement). Most FTAs that Vietnam has targeted mainly focus in Asia, ASEAN economies, neighbours like China and the world’s largest economies such as the US and the EU. These agreements mark Vietnam’s solid steps forward in the international integration process and national development. |
Hong Hanh
Đăng ký: VietNam News