Tuyen, who was in charge of directing the negotiation process on the country's World Trade Organisation membership, explained that tariff cuts committed to WTO are not as deep and wide as those Viet Nam has committed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the recent implementation of which, even though, has shown no signs of rocking the national economy.

Moreover, revenues of imports which are listed in WTO commitments will make up only 20 percent of the annual gross import revenues.

WTO commitments will also affect tax collection, but the Government will not see this as a matter of big concern.

Tuyen said import tariffs collection contributes only nine percent to the State budget and the roadmap will take from five to seven years, thus leading to an estimated one percent reduction only in the State budget.

The WTO membership meanwhile will enable Viet Nam to expand production and boost imports-exports, opening up a prospect to scale up the State budget, said the trade leader.

Tuyen raised concerns about the domestic agriculture given its small-scaled production, low productivity, poor quality and low per-capita cultivated land area.

This major challenge to the agricultural sector and 80 percent of the national population living in rural areas has been foreseen by the Government, which is making policies and taking measures to solve the problem, Tuyen said.

These efforts have been continuing to complete a long-term legal system as committed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in his writing after the country officially joined the world's largest trade body, the Trade Minister added.

Under its commitments to the WTO, Viet Nam will have to reduce farm produce import taxes from 23.5 percent at present to 20.9 percent in five years from 2007 and industrial products from 16.8 percent to 12.6 percent in between five and seven years.

Viet Nam also signed a number of agreements on free trade in a number of industries and services. Information technology, garments and textiles and medical equipment have fully joined and other industries such as aircraft equipment, chemicals and building equipment have partly take part in these agreements. Under these accords, information technology has to remove its product tariffs and other industries have gradually reduced import duties to the lowest rates.

Source: VNAgency