Paris (VNA) – The European Union – Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA) which took effect in August 2020, has created significantpositive impacts on Vietnam's exports to France, according to Vu Anh Son, head of the Trade Office of Vietnam in France.

He said joining the agreement helps Vietnam improve itsprestige in the international arena as it is one of the first developingcountries to engage in a new-generation trade agreement with high-standard commitmentswith the EU.

For the business community, this prestige acts as one of thecrucial driving forces to encourage European businesses to either increase orengage for the first time in trade activities with Vietnamese enterprises, Sonsaid.

Tangible benefits from tariff reduction under the EVFTA have significantlycontributed to maintaining the momentum of Vietnam's exports to the EU duringand after the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted. 

Despite the global economic downturn and the challenging trendsfor exports in general, Vietnam's exports to France still sustained stable growth in the first four months of this year at 7.7% year-on-year, hitting over2.12 billion EUR (over 2.3 billion USD).

Leather and footwear, electronics and telecommunications,and textile and garment continued to be the key exports,constituting about 60% of Vietnam's total export value to France. In particular, the export of footwear and phones posted strong increases of 30.5% and 21.9%, respectively.

Vietnam’s export turnover to France in 2022 surged by 18.8% toover 7.27 billion EUR from 6.12 billion EUR in 2020, reaching a record-highlevel.

The credibility and tariff incentives brought by the EVFTA areproviding a significant advantage for Vietnam's exports, particularly in farmproduce.

The trade official noted that theEVFTA is a "boost" and a significant source of encouragement thatpropels Vietnamese businesses to engage more professionally and systematicallyin the international supply chain with well-defined plans,  

In the French market, following a series of promotionactivities, image-building, and consumer-orienting efforts carriedout by the Vietnam Trade Office, Vietnam's products have gradually gained footholds andrecognition among local consumers, Son said, citing as an example the entry of Vietnamese rice into two major supermarkets chains - Carrefour and E.Leclerc. 

The Vietnam Trade Office is continuing to capitalise onopportunities and potential generated by the EVFTA, towards further supporting Vietnamesegoods to access the retail segment in France, Son went on.

However, he noted that technical specifications and rules oforigin are always significant hurdles for Vietnam's goods exported to the EU ingeneral and France in particular.

He advised businesses to invest more in technology developmentto produce products meeting regulations on technical specifications,and quality and environmental standards./.