Attending the signing ceremony of EVFTA were Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, Stefan Radu Oprea, Romania’s Minister of Environment, Business, Trade and Enterprises (Romania is the country holding the rotating presidency of EU).
In addition, there are the participation of ministers in the Government of Vietnam, European ambassadors in Vietnam, ambassadors of EU countries in Vietnam, and chief representatives of international organizations such as European Development Bank. Asia (ADB), World Bank (WB), European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), and World Labor Organization (ILO).
Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, the Romanian Minister in charge of business, commerce and business Stefan-Radu Oprea will represent EU signing EVFTA in Hanoi.
On the Vietnamese side, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh will be authorized, the representative of the Government of Vietnam to sign this historic Agreement.
According to Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh, the signing of the agreement enhances bilateral relations, deepens the economic relations of the world, and brings benefits to both sides.
"15 years ago, Vietnam was just a step into the process of international economic integration. At that time, Vietnam’s export turnover was only USD 26 billion. Vietnam is still a small trading partner. EU support, and after 15 years, Vietnam’s export turnover has increased 10 times, Vietnam and the EU prepare a new phase, the period of long-term, equal, relationship building on rules transparent, open, of a new generation of free agreements " , the Minister of Industry and Trade stressed.
Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh spoke before the signing ceremony. Photo: DT
Minister Tran Tuan Anh also said that the next thing to do is to approve both FTA and IPA agreements and to prepare effective implementation steps for both people and businesses on both sides. “The next step requires the efforts of the European Union, hopefully EU relevant agencies soon complete the approval procedures for the two agreements EVFTA and IPA to be effective,” said Minister of Industry and Trade.
In the first phase, when effective, EVFTA will remove 65% of EU import tariffs on Vietnam, while the remainder will be deleted in a 10-year period. On the contrary, at the beginning of the validity period, 71% of the tariffs on Vietnamese goods exported to the EU will be removed, and the next phase will clear the remaining 7 years.
"I welcome today’s decision of EU member states. After Singapore, the agreement with Vietnam is the second signing that the EU has made with a Southeast Asian country, and this also shows progress. new for European cohesion with the region ... ", European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.
For Vietnam, EVFTA is a very significant agreement, playing a very important role in Vietnam’s integration strategy. “This is a new generation of free trade agreements with very high and comprehensive standards that both the EU and Vietnam have put their energy into negotiating and completing legal procedures,”the Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said.
EVFTA with 17 Chapters, 2 Protocols and a number of attached memoranda (trade in goods, trade in services, investment, trade defense, competition, state-owned enterprises, government procurement , intellectual property ...) is a comprehensive agreement and ensures a balance of benefits for both Vietnam and the EU, which also noted differences in development levels between the two sides.
With Vietnam’s exports, as soon as the Agreement comes into effect, the EU will abolish import duties for nearly 86% of tariff lines and more than 99% of tariff lines will be removed after 7 years, equivalent to 99.7% of needles. Vietnam’s export turnover to 28 EU member countries. 0.3% of the remaining export turnover, EU committed to provide Vietnam with tariff quotas with import tariffs in the quota of 0%.
Thus, with the commitment to abolish import taxes up to nearly 100% of the tariffs and commercial values agreed by the two sides, the opportunity to increase exports for Vietnamese products with advantages such as textiles and garments, leather shoes, agricultural products (including rice, sugar, honey, vegetables and fruits), furniture ... are very significant.
"The level of commitment in EVFTA can be considered as the highest commitment level that Vietnam has achieved in the signed FTAs so far. This is even more meaningful now, just over 42% of export turnover. Vietnam to the EU is entitled to 0% tax rate under the Generalized Preferential Tariff Program (GSP), "the Ministry of Industry and Trade evaluated.
Meanwhile, according to the study of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the EVFTA Agreement will help Vietnam’s export turnover to the EU increase by about 20% by 2020; 42.7% in 2025 and 44.37% in 2030 compared to no Agreement.
At the same time, imports from the EU also increased but at a lower rate than exports, specifically about 15.28% by 2020; 33.06% in 2025 and 36.7% in 2030.
In terms of macro, EVFTA contributes to making Vietnam’s GDP increase by an average of 2.18-3.25% (2019-2023); 4.57-5,30% (years 2024-2028) and 7.07-7.72% (year 2029-2033).
Launched in June 2012, by the end of 2015, Vietnam and the EU ended the process of negotiating and actively conducting legal review in order to soon sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). ). By September 2017, EU officially introduced a new format for the agreement to be signed with Vietnam. The EU proposed separating the FTA into two independent agreements, namely EVFTA and EVIPA.
In June 2018, Vietnam and EU officially agreed to separate EVFTA into two agreements, including the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). Officially terminated the entire legal review process of the EVFTA Agreement and agreed upon all the contents of the IPA Agreement.
