EU Green Deal and Vietnam's export: Challenges of awareness change and enhancement
21/12/2023 32As a comprehensive and long-term policy package, the European Green Deal and its policies, implementing actions are not only numerous in number and complex in nature (multiple layers of rules, many binding levels, interlinked sectors, aspects) but also continuously evolving (including new roadmap and situation revision). Therefore, it is required that Vietnam’s businesses and regulatory authorities should have right, correct and regularly updated awareness of related green policies in response to European Green Deal.
Meanwhile, a quick survey conducted by Research Group before making this Report showed that Vietnamese actors’ awareness of European Green Deal is quite limited, most of respondents had never known or only briefly heard of EGD, especially in group of corporates, associations, businessmen who are the direct actors of many related green policies.
Figure – Awareness of Vietnam’s actors of European Green Deal
Source: VCCI’s survey of European Green Deal in August/2023
For many EGD’s specific policies affecting directly Vietnam’s exports to the EU, the awareness of relevant actor groups in Vietnam is slightly improved (higher rate of “studied, know well”) compared to the general understanding of European Green Deal. However, the biggest portion (87-93%) have not yet known or just briefly heard of these policies.
Table – The awareness of Vietnam’s actors of some EU’s policies
|
Awareness |
European Green Deal |
“Farm to Fork” Strategy |
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) |
EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation (EUDR) |
Strategy “Circlular and sustainable Textile” |
|
Never heard |
27,09% |
29,43% |
42,81% |
16,39% |
35,45% |
|
Heard, not yet studied |
65,22% |
60,20% |
50,17% |
71,24% |
55,85% |
|
Studied, known well |
7,69% |
10,37% |
7,02% |
12,37% |
8,70% |
Source: VCCI’s survey of European Green Deal in August/2023
Limited knowledge of actors, especially businessman group resulted in misunderstanding, misconception of European Green Deal, then following responses in negative manners. Either they ignore EU actions in EGD, assuming that they are not related to them or affect products, actors outside the EU, or they are too worried, assuming that all EU’s standards will be increased, stricter or aim at their exported products. These two scenarios are not supported by any facts or rationales and will lead to inappropriate responses causing loss at different levels for prospects of production and exports of Vietnam’s goods to the EU.
Therefore, the first challenge to be handled by Vietnamese manufacturers, exporters to EU, associations and involving stakeholders is to change and improve the awareness of EGD and its policies, implementing measures in a comprehensive, concrete way.
First and foremost, it should start with the change in the awareness of EU green policies. Specifically, the EU’s green and sustainable standards need to be understood in the spirit of long-term flow, an indispensable trend of EU market in particular and the world exporting market in general. Given such approach, Vietnamese manufacturers and exporters can shape appropriate response strategies; shift from responding toward adapting; from trying to meet specific standards, requirements if any to taking efforts for investment toward long-term, sustainable green transition.
With the basic knowledge, in specific technical steps for improving awareness, accurately grasping progress to have detailed adapting plans, Vietnamese manufacturers and exporters are recommended to:
- Understand exactly general trends, contents of European Green Deal and its policy targets;
- Regularly and continuously update specific policies, measures relating to exported products, especially applicable scope, implementing methods and timelines/roadmap in practice;
- Regularly update information about the courses relating to European Green Deal in groups of businesses, associations, organizations, individuals with the same interest in specific product(s).
Source: Report "EU Green Deal and Vietnam's Exports - The case of the agricultural, food and textile industries" – Center for WTO and International Trade