Vietnam, UK officially sign bilateral FTA in London

Vietnamese ambassador to the UK Tran Ngoc An and UK ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Edward Ward pen the FTA between the two countries in London on Dec. 29. (Photo: VNA)

The UKVFTA inherits commitments made in the free trade agreement between the European Union and Vietnam (EVFTA), with necessary amendments to ensure its compliance with bilateral trade framework between Vietnam and the UK.

Similar to the EVFTA, the UKVFTA covers trade in goods, rules of origin, customs and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS), technical barriers to trade (TBT), trade in services, investment, trade remedies, competition, state enterprises, government procurement, intellectual property, trade and sustainable development, cooperation and capacity building, legal and institutional framework.

Currently, both sides are completing procedures to ensure that the agreement will take effect as from 11pm on December 31, 2020.

The UK is the third largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe. Total import-export turnover of the two countries reached US$6.6 billion last year, of which Vietnam earned US$5.8 billion from exports and spent US$857 million on imports.

Major Vietnamese exports to the UK are mobile phones and components, textiles, footwear, seafood, wood and wood products, computers and components, cashew nuts, coffee, and pepper.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese imports from the UK include machinery, equipment, pharmaceuticals, steel, and chemicals.

According to experts, both countries have great potential for strengthening trade ties as Vietnamese exports only account for less than 1% of the UK’s total imports worth US$700 billion last year.