Vietnamese enterprises are ready to bring into full play the opportunities as well as face the challenges brought by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which was officially signed on February 4.

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, the TPP is a high quality new-generation agreement, which will boost exports, attract more foreign investments and increase the position of Vietnam in the region and the world.

In anticipation of those opportunities, the Vietnamese garment sector has implemented many initiatives to restructure itself to conform with the integration process.

Numerous production chains have been put into operation to meet the agreement’s requirements on rules of origin, which help increase the localisation rate and the prices of several garment companies’ shares.

General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Le Tien Truong said that Vietnam has to import a large amount of materials.

Therefore, the group has prepared for a long time and coordinated with foreign companies in building material production regions.

As an outstanding unit of the garment and textile sector, the Phong Phu Corporation has coordinated closely with Vinatex’s subsidiaries and other companies to form a large supply chain, while reforming management capacity and technologies in order to stay firmly in front of big foreign rivals.

However, there still remain businesses which have not made any moves to restructure, as they lack knowledge about TPP. Many of them do not know how to benefit from the zero percent tariff rate applied when Vietnamese products are proved to have a domestic materials content of 60 percent.

Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Light Industry Department Phan Chi Dung pointed to the fact that if the sector wants to invest in material sources, it has to find thousand-hectare material regions.

However, this is a challenge because many localities do not provide large fields to develop materials, as they are afraid of environmental pollution risks caused by garment production.

In addition, once the agreement comes into effect, companies will face fiercer competitiveness on goods, services and investment, numerous trade protection measures, and tighter requirements on product quality.

Deputy chief of the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on International Economic Integration, Trinh Minh Anh, suggested businesses make efforts to meet global standards to increase competitiveness. They were also urged to have a thorough understanding of integration to analyse the process’s influence on their products, and have appropriate plans of action.

Minister Hoang asked Government, State management agencies, and relevant ministries and sectors to pay attention to building standards that ensure the quality of products sold in Vietnam and prevent substandard goods from entering into the country, thus facilitating domestic firms’ development.

He added that it is necessary to promote communication work to raise enterprises’ awareness of the TPP contents, helping them identify advantages as well as challenges, in order to take responsive measures and get the best out of opportunities arising from the deal.

Experts: TPP deal spurs aquatic export

Economic experts have forecast that Vietnam’s aquatic export to the US, Japan and other Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members will increase after the deal was officially signed on February 4.

The effective free trade agreement with the European Union as well as the TPP will help spur domestic aquatic export to key markets in 2016, said Ngo Van Ich, President of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

According to Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP General Secretary, domestic aquatic exporters will be ready to meet the standards of import markets to fully tap potential from the agreement.

Even before joining the international free trade agreements, they have long fulfilled the strict standards of import nations, such as the BAP, ASC and MSC CoC standards of the US, he affirmed.

With zero tariffs, firms will focus their investment in aquaculture, processing and exporting, thus improving their product value, he said.

The deal also contributes to facilitating negotiations with international partners, thanks to the nation’s enhanced reputation as a TPP member country, Hoe added.

Deputy Director General of the CADOVIMEX 2 Seafood Import-Export and Processing Joint Stock Company Nguyen Phuoc Buu Huy said his company has applied BAP-met technologies in its production, processing and export line.

His company stands ready to meet the strict requirements from importers in the US and Japan, among others, Huy said, suggesting that domestic firms actively expand their markets to ensure stable export.

Meanwhile, Director General of the Hung Vuong Joint Stock Company Duong Ngoc Minh stressed the need for the sector to tap the potential from the domestic market.

Domestic firms should enhance their product quality to increase their competitiveness in the domestic market, thus ensuring the sustainable development of the sector, Minh said.

Other experts from VASEP called on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to review relevant legal framework and devise incentives for the sector to help firms better meet the requirements of the international market.

MARD Minister Cao Duc Phat pledged that the ministry will stand side by side with domestic aquatic exporters to overcome challenges exposed from the free trade agreements and the TPP.

VNA