VietNamNet Bridge – The signed free-trade agreements (FTAs) would enable Viet Nam to reel in commercial and investment flows in serving its growth model restructuring.

The signing and negotiations of both bilateral and multilateral cooperation documents and FTAs, especially the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the EU-Viet Nam FTA, constitutes positive steps Vietnam had taken to integrate more deeply into the world economy.

FTAs are forecast to heavily influence the country’s export flows from raw materials to industrial manufacturing products.

Regarding TPP, a research in 2012 of Professor Peter A.Petri from US-based University Brandeis predicted that Viet Nam would benefit largely from exporting industrial processing products, saying the rate would be between 21-35%.

TPP is said to assist Viet Nam in forging strong linkages with international supply chains to gain better growth quality.

Meanwhile, FTA can help improve the manufacturing sector’s competitiveness by luring more FDI in hi-tech and value-added areas.

* Viet Nam’s FTA negotiation process

Viet Nam and ASEAN already signed six multilateral FTAs like the ASEAN Free Trade Are (AFTA) in January 1992, the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) in November 2002; the ASEAN Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) in August 2006; the ASEAN-Japan Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) in April, 2008; the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) in February, 2009; and the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIG) in August, 2009.

The roadmaps on tax reduction outlined in the FTAs to which Viet Nam already signed or is negotiating have a deadline by late 2020.

Specifically, Viet Nam would finalize tax cuts with other ASEAN member states in 2015 in line with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA); with China in 2015; the Republic of Korea in 2016; Japan in 2017; India, Australia and New Zealand in 2018.

Viet Nam kicked off the first bilateral FTA negotiations with Chile in 2008 and reached an agreement to this in November, 2011.

The country is positively negotiating other bilateral negotiations, including that with the Republic of Korea (August 2012).

Particularly, the country is carrying out negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (PTT) with eight partners, including New Zealand, Brunei, Chile, Singapore, Australia, Peru, the US and Malaysia and began round of talks for FTA with the EU.

As scheduled, Viet Nam would start talks with the Russia- Kazakhstan-Belarus Customs Union in 2013 and Ukraine in January 2013.

Source: VGP