The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is considered a comprehensive trade agreement covering a wide area of sectors and also has an equal elimination of tariffs from both sides, is anticipated to bring about benefits and opportunities for both economies in multiple ways throughout the years.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, speaking at his talks with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc in The Hague on Monday, said the Netherlands supports the early signing and ratification of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement.

Leaders of the European Union told Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc they would speed up review of the bloc’s free trade agreement with Việt Nam with a view to signing it as soon as possible.

Vietnamese firms should step up efforts to boost exports to the EU despite facing several difficulties, a senior official said yesterday.

Once the EU-Việt Nam Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA-FLEGT) comes into force, there will be opportunities for Việt Nam to export more wooden products to Europe and other markets, delegates told a seminar in HCM City on Tuesday.

Two-way trade between Việt Nam and the European Union (EU) grew 16.2 per cent year-on-year in the first five months of 2017, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Vietnamese government policy to divest itself of these enterprises is twofold, said speakers at a recent forum in Hanoi discussing the country’s preparedness for the Vietnam-EU free trade pact that is on track to come into force in 2018.

The EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will help Việt Nam become the regional hub for many foreign manufacturing companies, promoting the development of industrial parks (IPs) in the country, said Gellert Horvath, vice chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham).

The EU and Vietnam have reached an agreement on a free trade deal that will remove nearly all tariffs on commerce between the two economies and contribute to further market access, albeit with long transition periods for certain products.

In terms of customs and trade facilitation, commitments on customs procedures and cooperation and legal provisions will be a bridge for customs authorities to access new standards and use modern methods for more efficient and proactive customs management.