The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (FSVPS) have recently added two more seafood enterprises to the list of Vietnamese firms permitted to export to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as of May 4.

Vietnam has been benefiting from the Vietnam-EAEU FTA since it took effect in 2016, which has ever since created opportunities for Vietnamese exports to the Russia – the largest market in the EAEU.

Enterprises should fully take advantage of the Vietnam- Euroasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (VN-EAEU FTA), experts said.

The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the Heads of State decision making body for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), has been making considerable progress with plans to accelerate the number of Free Trade Agreements it has with other nations, and to speed up alignment with China’s Belt and Road initiative.

Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries pledged to provide a tariff quota of 10,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam next year under the Vietnam-EAEU Free Trade Agreement.

With a wide and diverse retail sector, Russia has been considered a promising market for agro-forestry-fishery products of Vietnam.

Vietnam has been the beneficiary of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union since 2016, as a result of which bilateral trade with Russia has boomed. With three years of experience and investment in increasing trade infrastructure, Vietnamese importers, distributors and retailers considering expanding this trade should be conducting market research activities into the opportunities in this market.

Russia was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam, laying the groundwork for a strong bilateral and economic relationship between the countries. Vietnam and Russia set up a strategic partnership back in 2001 and elevated this relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012 paving the way for increasing economic ties.

The outcomes of the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam over the first two years are mixed. They are quite noticeable when it comes to trade in goods, but elusive in other areas. The reasons why the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and, to a lesser extent, Russia turned out to be the main beneficiaries are explained by Vladimir Mazyrin, Doctor of Economics, Head of the Center for the Study of Vietnam and ASEAN at IFES RAS, Professor at the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University, and Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnamese Studies e-journal published by IFES RAS.

Trade between Vietnam and Russia was estimated at 4.57 billion USD in 2018, up 28.6 percent year on year, partly thanks to the enforcement of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).