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The seminar was attended by leaders of the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC), the International Cooperation Department (the Ministry of Finance), the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the Agricultural Products Processing and Market Development Department (MARD) and leaders of the GDVC’s departments (the Customs Control and Supervision Department, the Import-Export Duty Department and International Cooperation Department).

On June 8, 2020, at the ninth session of the 14th National Assembly, the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was adopted. Earlier, on February 12, 2020, the European Parliament also voted to ratify this agreement. Thus, the EVFTA is expected to take effect from August 1, 2020, ending the process of after nearly 10 years since the two sides officially started EVFTA negotiations.

Among the free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed and implemented, the EVFTA is a comprehensive, high-quality agreement that ensures a balance of benefits for both Vietnam and the EU and in line with regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The benefits of EVFTA are to promote two-way trade, especially in the context of the world economy, including Vietnam, which is facing difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with the trend of protectionism and increasingly complicated trade wars among major economies.

The EVFTA also helps Vietnam’s economy to participate in the global supply chain; increase the export of products with advantages such as agricultural products, fishery products and textiles. Local consumers will able to access high-quality and low-price products from the EU such as raw materials, auxiliary materials, equipment and machinery, especially cosmetics.

The EVFTA is also an opportunity to promote administrative reforms, improve the investment environment and institutional reforms.

Notably, the EVFTA is also an opportunity for Vietnamese and EU businesses to cooperate and build the competitiveness of import and export of goods and mutual administrative support in the field of customs.

Through the signing of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), including the EVFTA, there is a requirement for the internalization of international commitments in the agreements into the legal document system.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance is drafting a decree on the lists of preferential export tariffs and special preferential import tariffs to implement the EVFTA, which is applied from the effective date of the agreement for Vietnam and has a cut roadmap as committed in the agreement.

The Ministry of Finance (the GDVC) is also drafting a circular guiding the origin upon the implementation of the EVFTA.

To help Vietnamese and EU businesses understand and maximize benefits of this agreement, as well as obligations, especially Vietnamese small and medium enterprises, at the seminar, the speakers will discuss: Vietnam’s import and export prospects; tax policies and roadmap of Vietnam; and mutual administrative support in the field of customs with the implementation of the EVFTA; and what do agro-forestry-fishery businesses prepare for the EVFTA.

In addition, there are other important issues such as: Procedures and process for C/O control under the EVFTA; the impact of the EVFTA on state budget revenues; experience sharing on the EU market and cooperation export capacity building of enterprises on both sides; and recommendations and suggestions of businesses participating in the EVFTA to promote production, trade, development and fair competition.