Free trade

Once the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) signed will open broad prospects for their companies.

"Opportunities and challenges for companies from foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam after the North American Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Vietnam-EU agreement" was the subject of a recent seminar in Hanoi.

It was organized by the foreign investment enterprises in Vietnam (VA FIE), in collaboration with the Office of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation.

Companies in Vietnam such as the EU operating in Vietnam will benefit from this agreement said the former Free Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, adding that he believes that European investment will increase because the environment of Investment continues to improve. According to Professor Dr Nguyen-May President of the VAFIE, the choice of a partner to negotiate and sign an FTA should be based on economic efficiency of international trade in the medium term (2011-2015) and long-term (2011 -2020).

In 2010, Vietnam and the EU agreed to begin negotiations of an FTA, thus opening a new phase of their relationship. The EU is a market leading export for Vietnam, whose exports to Europe mainly in the EU have tripled between 2005 and 2010 from 5.6 to 15.4 billion dollars. From 2008 to 2010, the EU accounted for about 18% of national exports. It is also a major investor in Vietnam in early March 2011, 1079 foreign direct investment projects representing 16.158 billion dollars registered capital.

The Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien, said the first of the problems         facing Vietnamese enterprises in the export of their products in this market lies in the difficulty of collecting the information needed. The European Union is an important market of great potential also for Vietnamese exports especially when the free trade agreement, which must be signed shortly will be in effect added the deputy minister.

Vietnam to export goods to the EU market, Vietnamese businesses must understand and respect the regulations on import and export formalities in the EU, in addition to compliance with the formalities of export-import of Vietnam.

The EU is an important partner of Vietnam, the second of its importers in 2010 after the United States. In February and March 2011, Vietnam exported 2.5 billion worth of goods to this market, mainly footwear, textiles, coffee, aquatic products and wood products.