Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday also witnessed the signing of an announcement on the official conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (EVFTA) between Viet Nam and EU.
According to the agreement, the EU will erase the import tax for about 85.6 per cent of the taxed goods, equivalent to 70.3 per cent of Viet Nam’s export value to the EU.
The figures will increase to 99.2 per cent and 99.7 per cent, respectively, after the FTA has been implemented for seven years.
For the remaining 0.3 per cent of Viet Nam’s export value to the EU, the EU pledged to grant Viet Nam tariff quotas, of which the import tax will be reduced to zero per cent.
For key sectors such as textiles and garments, footwear and seafood (excluding canned tuna and fish balls), the EU will erase the entire import tax for these Vietnamese exports after the FTA has been implemented for seven years.
In return, Viet Nam pledged to reduce taxes to zero per cent for EU’s cars and motorbikes exported to Viet Nam after the FTA has been implemented for nine or 10 years.
For EU’s products of wine, alcohol, beer, pork and chicken, Viet Nam agreed to erase most of the import tax after the FTA is enacted for ten years at most.
Regarding the export tax, Viet Nam pledged to abolish most of the export tax which will be implemented according to a set road map, and only to maintain the export tax on some key commodities, including crude oil and coal.
In other issues related to commercial goods, Viet Nam and the EU agreed upon customs procedures, issues of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS), Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), trade protection and others, making a legal framework for cooperation between the two sides and providing favourable conditions for their businesses’ import and export activities.
In the fields of trade, services and investment, Viet Nam and the EU pledged to create an open, favourable environment for investment from both sides.
In terms of the governments’ procurement, Viet Nam and the EU agreed upon content similar with those of the WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA).
EVFTA also comprises chapters related to competitiveness, state enterprises, sustainable development and cooperation in building capacity and legal, institutional issues. This content conforms with Viet Nam’s current laws and legal regulations, providing a legal framework for the two sides to strengthen cooperation and speed up bilateral trade and investment.