The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which officially took effect on May 1, is believed to herald a new era for Vietnamese goods to gain a foothold in a market with strong purchasing power, according to the Dau tu (Vietnam Investment Review) newspaper.

The Trade Remedies Authority, a new independent body with powers to help defend UK economic interests from unfair international trading practices, has launched.

On May 21, 2021, the Government issued Decree 53/2021/ND-CP on Vietnam’s Preferential Export Tariff and Special Preferential Import Tariff to implement the UKVFTA Agreement for the 2021-2022 period.

The Prime Minister has approved a plan for the implementation of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

Regarding exported rice and Vietnamese rice brands, on the afternoon of May 4, the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK informed that in 2020, the volume of Vietnamese rice imported into the UK increased from 1,296 tons, worth nearly US$1.3 million in 2019, to 3,396 tons, worth over $2.6 million.

Referring to opportunities from the FTAs, the export growth to markets of the new generation FTAs such as the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA), the UK-Vietnam FTA (UKVFTA), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a good example.

The UK and Viet Nam have a strong and growing bilateral trade relationship and share a strategic commitment to global trade, the free flow of capital and investments, the department for international trade said to mark an important symbolic step in this partnership as the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement enters into force.

In the first quarter of 2021, exports of goods to many markets participating in FTAs such as the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the UK-Vietnam FTA (UKVFTA) have recorded a sharp increase, facilitating exports in the future.

A new political leadership was affirmed on April 5, 2021, at Vietnam’s 13th National Party Congress. The newly elected Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, a career security official, but also known to favor incentives for boosting economic growth, is anticipated to build on the positive economic ties fostered by Vietnam’s outgoing PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Việt Nam will announce to the UK side its ratification of the UK-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) this month, so the deal can officially come into force from May 1.