Vietnam remains steadfast on greater global economic integration amid growing protectionism, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.
Overview of the meeting. Source: VGP.
|
According to Hue, in 2015, Vietnam contributed to the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 with vision to 2025, while continuing to push for the signing of free trade agreements with major trading partners, including South Korea and Eurasian Economic Union.
In November 2019, Vietnam became the seventh member country to enforce the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Other trade deals such as the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) are expected to conclude soon.
The enforcement of these FTAs would include Vietnam into a list of handful nations with FTAs with China, EU, Japan, Russia and other partners.
At the meeting, Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said Canada, Mexico and Peru are three member countries of the CPTPP that Vietnam had not had FTAs with. In the first three months of 2019, Vietnam’s exports to Canada and Mexico rose sharply, in which the amount of goods subject to certificate of origin (C/O) qualification was highest among total Vietnam’s exports to CPTPP countries.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said the diversification of FTAs would help Vietnam minimize negative impacts from trade conflicts.
According to Son, with the ongoing shift in global investment and trade flows, government agencies are required to enhance supervision capabilities and support local enterprises against external risks.
On this matter, Nguyen Duc Trung, vice minister of Planning and Investment, said the government should focus on attracting high quality FDI projects in terms of technologies and capital, ensuring new requirements on environmental protection and technologies transfer.
