The EVFTA and EVIPA are standard and most ambitious agreements concluded between the EU and a developing country.

Once the EVFTA takes effect, over 99 percent of tariff on goods from both sides will be lifted. Vietnam will remove 65 percent of import tariff on goods from the EU. Remaining tariffs will be removed in the next decade.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh (R) and European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström during a meeting in Belgium in 2018.

Besides offering significant economic opportunities, the trade agreement ensures that trade, investment and sustainable development go hand in hand, by setting the highest standards of labour, safety, environmental and consumer protection.

Meanwhile, the EVITA will help enhance the EU’s investment in Vietnam.

Vietnam is the EU’s second largest trade partner in ASEAN with a trade value of nearly 50 billion EUR (about 56 billion USD).

The FTA was initiated in June 2012 and negotiations on the deal concluded in 2015.

After legal review, the EU proposed dividing the FTA into the EVFTA and EVIPA in September 2017.

After being signed, the two deals will be submitted to the European Parliament (EP) for consent.

The EVFTA is expected to be approved by the EP later this year or early 2020.

Meanwhile, it will take at least two years for the EVIPA to be ratified by the EP and member parliaments.

EVFTA expected to be signed late 2018

Bernd Lange, Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade, has said he expects the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to be signed at the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit in October or sometime in November this year.

EVFTA has positive impact on Vietnam’s economy: European firms

The business members of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) are optimistic about the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)’s impacts on Vietnamese economy, with nearly 80 percent predicting a rosy future.

Brussels workshop talks about EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement

The Vietnamese Embassy in Belgium, in collaboration with the European Union (EU), the EU-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group and the European Institute for Asian Studies, held a workshop in Brussels on June 20 to speed up the signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Vietnam, Chile look to facilitate free trade, investment

Vietnam wishes to strengthen its comprehensive partnership with Chile across various fields, especially in economics, trade, and investment, Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue has affirmed.

APEC economies vow support for free trade

Twenty one member economies of the Asia – Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum have voiced their support for free trade in the context that global economy is being affected by the US-China trade war.

Source: VNA