The benefits that these FTAs offer include lower tariffs, a competitive business environment, cheap and high-quality goods, thereby creating better opportunities for Vietnamese exports to enter the markets of partner countries.

Illustrative image.

The benefits are enormous, but the challenges are also considerable, requiring Vietnamese enterprises to be well-prepared to seize the opportunities from the most sweeping wave of integration ever.

In fact, the utilisation rate of the 15 FTAs by Vietnamese enterprises in 2021 was only 33%, with total exports utilising tariff cuts estimated at 69.8 billion USD.

The past two years have seen a slump in global trade on top of risks and uncertainties in the world economy, but Vietnam has still managed to record decent export growth.

Nevertheless, the weakest point in Vietnam’s export sector is its unsustainability as the majority of farming exports are raw or only saw preliminary processing. Manufacturing accounts for 86% of Vietnam’s total exports, but most is assembly, therefore Vietnam can only benefit from labour costs, land rent and tax.

Furthermore, Vietnam’s other established goods, such as rice, pepper, cashew and coffee, are given the opportunity for further processing under the FTAs but Vietnamese enterprises have failed to meet the requirements.

That is why Vietnam’s exports have only grown in quantity while not much change has been made to value and structure to allow Vietnam to be more deeply involved in the global value chain.

It should also be noted that Vietnam’s exports and trade surplus rely on foreign-invested firms while domestic enterprises are still importing a large share of goods.

Vietnamese enterprises should pay attention to the rule of origin issue to avoid being investigated and facing the trade defence measures imposed by importing countries.

They also need to work closely with functional agencies to have a concrete and practical plan of action to enhance the capacity to utilise tariff preferences and address policy obstacles related to the rule of origin, thus helping exports become more sustainable and effective.

Number of newly-established enterprises hits record high in H1 2022

The number of newly established enterprises hit record high in the first half of 2022 to 76,233, an increase of 13.6% compared to the same period last year. Of note, since the start of the year, 40,667 firms have resumed operations

More than 100 enterprises join “Hanoi Sales Promotion”

More than 100 enterprises join the programme “Hanoi Sales Promotion” which officially opened at the Times City urban area in Hai Ba Trung District of the capital city on July 8.

Small and medium enterprises get support to do online business

A training course supporting small and medium enterprises to do online business and online exports was held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 17.

Customs sub-department in charge of Bac Giang industrial zones accompanies import-export enterprises

(BGO)- The Customs Sub-department in charge of industrial zones in Bac Giang province was established in November 28, 2005 under the Customs Department of Lang Son province then becoming a part of Bac Ninh Customs Department since July 1, 2012. 

Enterprises recover, well implement tax policy

(BGO)- Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in Bac Giang province in the middle last year adversely impacted operation of almost companies. However, thanks to the great efforts to overcome difficulties, several enterprises have recovered their production and business with dramatically increased turnovers and made positive contribution to the state budget.

Source: NDO