Vietnam EU Free Trade Agreement: Eliminate 99% of import tariffs

The Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement is of high quality and comprehensiveness, bringing optimal benefits to people and businesses on both sides.

For EU export goods, Vietnam commits to eliminating most import taxes after a certain roadmap; only reserving import taxes for some important products, including crude oil and coal. Vietnam will reduce import taxes to 0% after 9-10 years for cars. Particularly for motorbikes with a cylinder capacity of over 150 cm3, the import tax will be eliminated after 7 years. Vietnam will also agree to eliminate import taxes on wine, spirits, beer, pork and chicken products for a maximum period of 10 years.

The EVFTA trade agreement completely eliminates import taxes on textile, footwear and seafood products. (Photo: KT)

In addition, Vietnam and the EU also agreed on contents related to customs procedures, SPS, TBT, trade defense, etc., creating a legal framework for the two sides to cooperate, facilitating the export and import of businesses.

The commitments of Vietnam and the EU on trade in investment services aim to create an open and favorable investment environment for the operations of businesses on both sides. Vietnam's commitments go beyond the WTO commitments. The EU's commitments are higher than the WTO commitments and are equivalent to the highest level of EU commitments in recent EU FTAs.

The sectors in which Vietnam has committed to facilitating EU investors include a number of professional services, financial services, telecommunications services, transport services, and distribution services. The two sides also made commitments on national treatment in the investment sector, and discussed the content of dispute settlement between investors and the State.

Vietnam and the EU also agreed on contents equivalent to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). With some obligations such as online bidding, setting up an electronic portal to post bidding information, etc., Vietnam has a roadmap to implement. The EU also committed to providing technical assistance to Vietnam to implement these obligations. At the same time, Vietnam reserved the right to reserve a certain percentage of the value of bidding packages for domestic contractors, goods, services and labor.

The two sides also reached an agreement on intellectual property commitments, including commitments on copyright, inventions, patents, commitments related to pharmaceuticals and geographical indications, etc. Basically, Vietnam's intellectual property commitments are in accordance with current legal regulations. When the Agreement comes into effect, Vietnam will protect over 160 geographical indications of the EU (including 28 members) and the EU will protect 39 geographical indications of Vietnam. Similarly, Vietnam's geographical indications are all related to agricultural products and food, creating conditions for a number of Vietnamese agricultural products to build and affirm their brands in the EU market.

In addition, the EVFTA also includes chapters related to competition, state-owned enterprises, sustainable development, cooperation and capacity building, and legal-institutional issues. These contents are consistent with Vietnam's legal system, creating a legal framework for the two sides to strengthen cooperation and promote the development of trade and investment between the two sides./.

According to VOV