Local firms supported to benefit from FTAs

HCMC – The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the HCMC government co-held a seminar last week to discuss measures for local firms to benefit from Vietnam’s global integration and free trade agreements (FTAs) with partners.

Vietnam has signed 10 bilateral and multilateral FTAs and is expected to wrap up negotiations over two comprehensive trade accords later this year, heard the seminar. Therefore, local enterprises need support from government agencies to make the most of such FTAs.

Under a draft scheme prepared by the ministry, in addition to informing local enterprises of the FTAs via seminars and training courses, the ministry will establish teams specializing in popularizing and clarifying policies and Vietnam’s commitments to the FTAs. Updates of these trade pacts will be published in newspapers and magazines of ministries and available at online training programs and in handbooks.

Trinh Minh Anh from the Steering Committee for International Economic Integration said 2015 was an important year for Vietnam as the country signed FTAs with South Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union, and is expected to conclude negotiations over the FTA with the European Union (EU) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) soon. Therefore, there must be new ways of popularizing updates of the country’s further international integration.

“We have proposed setting up a team in charge of clarifying Vietnam’s commitments to FTAs. Besides, business associations need to have people responsible for informing member enterprises of the FTAs,” Anh said.

Many economic partners of Vietnam have committed to sharp tax cuts and enterprises need to actively search for relevant information on websites of those countries. Anh told the seminar that there will be experts guiding enterprises on looking into FTA commitments.

Dr. Doan Thi Hong Van from the HCMC University of Economics said besides making known the contents of already-signed FTAs, the Government should consult businesses on the possible impacts of new trade pacts to better prepare negotiations instead of only seeking comments from ministries and agencies.

Van said the draft scheme just focuses on benefits of the country’s international integration so it should also cover challenges enterprises may encounter to help them understand and find ways out.

Ly Kim Chi, chairwoman of the HCMC Food and Foodstuff Association, said 80% of the association’s members were small and medium and they had not got access to updates of the country’s international integration.

Pham Kieu Oanh, deputy general director of Nha Be Garment Corporation, said business leaders should study tax incentives of the FTAs to make the most of these pacts and minimize exposure to risks.

According to the Dong Nai Department of Industry and Trade, its recent surveys have shown that foreign-invested firms in the southern province have mapped out plans to bank on the FTAs while local small and medium enterprises were concerned about the country’s deeper global integration.

Source: The Saigon Times