VN completes talks on three FTAs with major partners
17/12/2014 - 19 Lượt xem
These
new-generation FTAs cover trade in goods, origin rules, trade in
services, investment, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs
facilitation, preventive measures, technical barriers to trade,
e-commerce, competition, intellectual property rights, public
procurement, sustainable development, institutional and legal aspect
among others, Minister of Trade and Industry Vu Huy Hoang told our
reporter in an exclusive interview.
Relevant parties are finalizing technical and
internal procedures for the official signing to take place in the first
half of 2015, the Minister said.
Viet Nam and the EU entered the first round of talks of their FTA in June 2012 in Brussels, Belgium. Right after the 10th round
of talks in Brussels, PM Nguyen Tan Dung and EC President José Manuel
Barosso signed a joint statement under which they affirmed the
importance of early conclusion of the negotiations and agreed on ways to
handle arising obstacles.
Up to now, Viet Nam and the EU are focusing on key
issues relevant to intellectual property rights, State-owned
enterprises, and investment protection, public procurement, trade in
goods and services.
For the FTA with the RoK, the two countries have
undergone eight rounds of talks and other eight meetings since August 6,
2012 and signed an agreement on the conclusion of the negotiations on
the occasion of the 25th anniversary of dialogue relations between ASEAN and the RoK on December 10, 2014.
Under the FTA, the RoK will offer Viet Nam
preferential tariff imposed on farm produce, garments, and mechanic
products while committing to opening up its market for Viet Nam’s
services and providing technical and economic assistance for the
Southeast Asian country.
Viet Nam began talks on her FTA with the Customs
Unions on March 28, 2013 and inked an agreement on the completion of
talks in Viet Nam’s Phu Quoc Island on December 15, 2014.
The FTA is expected to give a strong boost to Viet
Nam’s key exports like agricultural products, garments, footwear, timber
and some other processing commodities.
Viet Nam will open her market for the Customs Union’s breeding products, machinery, equipment, and transport vehicles.
This is the first time the Customs Union launched
FTA talks with an outsider and all regulations under the agreement are
in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
despite the fact that Kazakhstan and Belarus have not acquired the WTO
membership.
Once the FTA comes into effect, the two-way trade
value between Viet Nam and the Customs Unions may grow 18-20% annually
to US$10-12 billion by 2020 from the current US$4 billion.
Apart from the aforesaid FTAs, Viet Nam is also
engaging in negotiations on other three major free trade agreements like
the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership and the FTA with the European Free Trade Association./.
Source: Chinhphu.vn
