EVFTA and to-do things

Export rice has many opportunities when EVFTA takes effect. Photo: collected.

Completing the legal framework

According to the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), the ratification of the EVFTA has been included in the agenda of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, scheduled to take place from 13thto 17thApril.In the event that the National Assembly ratifies the EVFTA at the 9th Session in May, June and the Council of Europe completes the signing within the above period, the EVFTA is likely to take effect in July.

Luong Hoang Thai, Director of Multilateral Trade Policy Department said the draft of the Government's Action Programme has been submitted to the Government for approval of the EVFTA. Based on this draft, the Multilateral Trade Policy Department has drafted the Implementation Plan of the Ministry of Industry and Trade with main task groups divided into two periods, namely this year and 2021 - 2025.

The task groups include: Building laws and institutions; propaganda and information dissemination on the EVFTA and the EVFTA's partner market; improving competitiveness and developing human resources; coordinating and participating in the activities of the EVFTA Trade Committee, the professional committees of the EVFTA and related activities; undertakings and policies for trade unions and labourer's organisations at the enterprise establishment.

To implement the EVFTA, the total number of proposed legislative documents is two laws, one decree and one decision of the Prime Minister, four new decrees are issued. The total number of commitments and groups of commitments proposed for direct application is 12. The documents formulated and issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade include a Government decree on refurbished goods(expected to take effect after threeyears from the date of entry into force of the agreement).The Ministry of Industry and Trade was assigned to develop the Prime Minister's Decision on designating the focal point to implement the EVFTA as well as the chapters of the agreement.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed the Prime Minister assign ministries to immediately implement important and urgent documents related to the agreement. In particular, the Ministry of Finance develops a decree on Vietnam's import and export tariff. The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance formulate a circular on identifying and verifying goods origin. The Ministry of Planning and Investment develops a guiding document on government procurement. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development develops a document guiding the process of registering the certification of exported rice into the EU to enjoy preferential tariff quotas.

Pay attention to ensure origin of goods

Looking at promoting exports of goods to the EU market right after the EVFTA Agreement takes effect, Han Van Chinh, Director of the Import-Export Bureau (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said key to import and export activities to the EU is to ensure the origin of goods. Two months ago, the Import Export Bureau has finished a draft circular on the origin of goods and putting it on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's network, collecting public comments, just waiting to press the button to approve.

“There are still some contents that need further research and clarification to make the most advantage of Vietnam's goods and products when exporting to the EU. Regarding the origin of goods in the EVFTA, there are provisions on accumulation for some countries signing FTA with the EU, especially, South Korea. For example, for textile products, when South Korea had an FTA with the EU,textile and apparel materials imported from Korea were allowed accumulation. The department has discussed with the Korean side, which is being addressed at the expert level. This is not only beneficial for Vietnam but also for Korea,”Chinh said.

Some view that promoting trade with the EU thanks to the EVFTA, with making efforts to take advantage of opportunities, attaching importance to trade remedies, combating evasion and frauds of goods origin to illegally exploit the commitments of this agreement are also important.

Le Trieu Dung, Director of Trade Defense Bureau (Ministry of Industry and Trade) analysed that in the past fiveyears,the EU has not had any anti-dumping investigations on goods or subsidies for Vietnam. However, the EU has some exchanges and conducted some investigations on origin fraud issues, especially with some of the goods that the EU is taking trade remedies against third countries such as China. A number of Vietnam's exports to the EU increased rapidly, the EU side has an investigation on origin fraud, including aluminum for food wrap, forklift trucks, fluorescent lights, gas lighters, etc. “For sustainable exploitation of the EVFTA, ensuring compliance with the provisions of the agreement on anti-fraud origin is very important,” Dung emphasised.