The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which has recently been ratified by the Vietnamese National Assembly, is considered a great opportunity for seafood enterprises to accelerate their exports after the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

Accordingly, following the implementation of the EVFTA, almost 50% of tax lines with base tax rates from 0-22% (most of the rates of 6-22%) will be reduced to 0%.

Roughly 50% of the remaining tax lines with base tax rates from 5.5-26% will be cut to 0% over the next 3-7 years.

Some processed seafood products with high rates of 20% will be slashed to 0% right after the implementation of the agreement including oysters, clams, squid, octopus, and abalone.

In addition, frozen seafood products of squid and octopus with tax rates of 6-8% will be cut to 0%. Tax rates on frozen shrimp and tiger shrimp products will also be truncated to 0% from 20%.

The tax reductions applied on other types of shrimp products will follow a 3-5-year roadmap while processed shrimp will follow a 7-year roadmap.

Besides the benefits from tax reduction, through the EVFTA, Vietnamese seafood is expected to expand its export markets and increase its competitiveness compared to other regional competitors such as Thailand and India.

The agreement is also an opportunity for Vietnam to attract foreign direct investment and enhance production technology and product quality, creating more motivation for further market expansion.

Source: Nhan Dan

• Private sector expected to drive national economy
• Businesses capitalize on recovery momentum to explore market expansion
• Việt Nam has opportunities to attract, develop the offshoring market
• Workshop talks human resources development for semiconductor industry
• Strengthening consumer protection and improving debt collection critical to promote consumer lending development: conference