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EU-Vietnam trade deal enforcement under review

21/07/2021    37

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission and EU trade commissioner, have co-chaired the opening meeting of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)'s Trade Committee.

The virtual meeting is designed to review the enforcement of the deal and discussing a range of issues related to trade and investment in both bilateral and multilateral frameworks.

Participants moved to adopt Decision No. 01 of the committee regarding its operation mechanism, which comprises regulations on its function, membership, secretariat, decision-making procedure, and information transparency.

Both sides therefore consented to boost closer co-ordination to fast-track the implementation of the deal and cope with issues that may pose a negative impact to the operation of both Vietnamese and EU firms, thereby maintaining and developing the supply chain amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the course of the meeting they also discussed a number of multilateral issues, including the reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and preparation for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, which is scheduled to be held from November 30 to December 1 in Switzerland.

The Vietnamese side used the platform to express their appreciation for the EU’s efforts for over recent years to ensure that the WTO operates in line with new reality in international trade and investment, as well as the interests of member countries, especially under-developed and developing ones, said Minister Dien.

The EVFTA originally came into force on August 1, 2020. After nearly one year of implementation, the two sides have enjoyed positive growth in bilateral trade, with their import-export value reaching US$27.67 billion in the first six months of the year, up 18.4% over the same period from last year.

Source: VOV