Vietnam goes ahead with international economic integration

The forum was held amidst the backdrop of Vietnam having achieved significant progress in preparing for the implementation of the new-generation Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

Trade agreements include the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which was signed back in March and given approval by the Vietnam National Assembly on November 12, 2018. CPTPP will come into effect on January 14, 2019.

The Deputy PM said Vietnam has achieved certain results in its international economic integration, contributing to the country's wider socio-economic development.

The total import-export turnover of 2018 is expected to reach US$475 billion, including US$239 billion from export turnover, up 11.2 per cent compared to 2017.

Vietnam has fully tapped into traditional markets and has sought ways at making inroads into new markets. In particular, exports of Vietnamese goods to FTA markets have seen high growth compared to figures from last year.

The rate of optimizing advantages in the markets since signing FTAs with Vietnam reached about 40%, a sharp rise against the figure of 35% from the previous years. Such figures prove that Vietnamese businesses have attached importance to the opportunities presented by FTAs.

Despite progress, some localities remain confused by the implementation of international economic integration due to a lack of capability, connectivity, and support between FDI and domestic sectors, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular being affected. In addition, there remains limitations in disseminating information on the integration process, the capacity to resolve trade disputes and international investment.

The global economy has recently shown signs of change with the rising trend of trade protectionism, which has seriously threatened the trade liberalization and global economic integration process.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue

Deputy PM Hue said current events in the world have affected the global economy as a whole, as well as a number of countries’ policies, including Vietnam. Therefore, the Vietnamese government needs to put forth analyses, forecasts and policies that aim to reduce the negative impact from the global trend of protectionism in order to devise proper solutions that can be implemented.

During the forum, speakers focused on analyzing and forecasting future trends of the world’s economy, with particular focus going to trade protectionism and the developments in trading relations among the world’s major economies, which have had impacts on both the domestic and global economy.

Participants also assessed the potential effect of new-generation FTAs such as CPTPP and EVFTA and issues relating to institutional reform and market approach. A strong assessment of FTAs will aid in devising solutions for removing hurdles in the implementation of commitments set by international integration.

They also exchanged ideas on core issues in the implementation of policies such as action plans focused on international economic integration.