After the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect last August, Vietnam’s export value to the EU has increased 18 per cent on-year in the first three months this year. The total export turnover to the EU was estimated at nearly $4.8 billion over the last eight months.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), between August 1, 2020 and April 4, 2021, authorities and organisations allowed to grant EUR.1 certificates of origin (C/O) have approved 127,296 such documents with a total value of $4.78 billion of exports to the 27 EU country members.

Besides this, businesses that want to export to the EU have certified the origins of nearly 3,585 batches themselves, with a total value of $10.88 million, to enjoy the generalised system of preferences (GSP) in accordance with the EVFTA.

Items receiving EUR.1 C/O are mainly footwear, seafood, textile and garment, agricultural products, cereal products, and electronics with major export markets being the ones having seaports such as Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and France.

According to the MoIT, under the EVFTA, Vietnamese companies can either apply for EUR.1 C/O or certify the origin of their goals by themselves. In case the importing countries detect any irregularities or cannot confirm the origin (country or facility), the two sides will discuss solutions. If they cannot find common solutions, importing countries could suspend incentives for three months, with a potential extension of another three months.

New-generation agreements like the EVFTA, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), or the UK-Vietnam FTA (UVFTA) will create more favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods to enter foreign markets with preferential tariffs and minimal barriers.

Along with the export growth thanks to the EVFTA, Vietnam’s export turnover to CPTPP members also rose in the first three months of 2021. Of this, exports to Canada rose by 13.7 per cent, to Australia by 17 per cent, to Chile by 25.6 per cent, to Mexico by 12.7 per cent, and to New Zealand by 35.1 per cent. Meanwhile, export value to the UK also surged by 22.1 per cent in the first quarter, thanks to the UVFTA.

Source: https://www.vir.com.vn/