The bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and Chile will be officially signed on November 11 after three years of negotiation, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The agreement is expected to be signed on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Honolulu, Hawaii next Friday under the witness of President Truong Tan Sang and his Chilean counterpart Sebastian Pinera.

With the commitments to reduce import tariffs and facilitate trade, the agreement will offer great opportunities to boost trade between the two countries, said Nguyen Duy Khien, head of the American Market Department under the trade ministry.

While declining to talk about the preferential policies and the progress of tax cuts, Khien informed most of the Vietnamese major export products will receive the benefits.

Vietnam’s trade office in Chile is calling for local enterprises to send their catalogues and brochures to a seminar relating to the agreement to be held next Wednesday in Santiago, Chile so as to introduce the business opportunities to Chilean enterprises.

Nguyen Minh Chau, director of Southern Fruit Research Institute (Sofri), said the agreement is the first step for local farm produce, especially fruit, to enter the Chilean market and vice versa. However, given the distance between the two countries, preservation and shipping conditions must be improved to ensure the quality.

According to the General Customs Office, as of September, Vietnam’s total export value to Chile was US$94 million, including textile and footwear products. Meanwhile, imported products from Chile were worth over US$255 million, including seafood, vegetable, animal feed, wood, furniture, iron and steel.

SGT