The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is undernegotiation, is to pose a number of challenges to staple agriculturaland industrial exports of Vietnam.
Experts of the EuropeanTrade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-Mutrap) said agricultureand fisheries are sensitive sectors to both Vietnam and the EU duringEVFTA negotiations.
As an array of issues related to jobs,poverty eradication and rural development will be most affected bypolicy changes in agriculture, both sides, therefore, tend to protectthis sector from intense competition once the market is open.
Do Lien Huong, an expert of the EU-Mutrap project, said Vietnam hasstrength in some farm produce and is able to directly compete with theEU in terms of roasted coffee, tomato, sugar and rice. The countryexported considerable volumes of cashew and aquatic products in 2013.
Non-tariff measures and requirements in agriculture imposed bythe EU - viewed as the strictest in the world, will also challengedeveloping countries, including Vietnam, she said.
Regardingthe industry sector, EU-Mutrap expert Paul Baker said EVFTA will mostlyhave impacts on textile and garments, footwear, automobile, hightechnology, handicrafts and processed wood products.
Vietnamesefootwear may benefit much from tax incentives under EVFTA. However, theproducts will have to face fierce competition from countries withstrength in this field such as India, Indonesia, Thailand and possiblythe newly-emerging Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s textile andgarment industry has to largely depend on imported raw materials, makingits products hard to vie with those from other countries.
Thesame situation is also happening in the wood processing industry.According to Nguyen Minh Thao from the Central Institute for EconomicManagement, Vietnam imports some 80 percent of timber, which make up 30 –40 percent of a wood product’s value.
Recently, materialsneeded for making handicrafts like rattan, bamboo, wood and pottery havealso been imported from China, Laos and Cambodia.
Highmaterials cost and shipment charges along with strict requirements setby the EU are also deemed as considerable barriers to the Europeanmarket for Vietnamese products.-VNA
Experts of the EuropeanTrade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-Mutrap) said agricultureand fisheries are sensitive sectors to both Vietnam and the EU duringEVFTA negotiations.
As an array of issues related to jobs,poverty eradication and rural development will be most affected bypolicy changes in agriculture, both sides, therefore, tend to protectthis sector from intense competition once the market is open.
Do Lien Huong, an expert of the EU-Mutrap project, said Vietnam hasstrength in some farm produce and is able to directly compete with theEU in terms of roasted coffee, tomato, sugar and rice. The countryexported considerable volumes of cashew and aquatic products in 2013.
Non-tariff measures and requirements in agriculture imposed bythe EU - viewed as the strictest in the world, will also challengedeveloping countries, including Vietnam, she said.
Regardingthe industry sector, EU-Mutrap expert Paul Baker said EVFTA will mostlyhave impacts on textile and garments, footwear, automobile, hightechnology, handicrafts and processed wood products.
Vietnamesefootwear may benefit much from tax incentives under EVFTA. However, theproducts will have to face fierce competition from countries withstrength in this field such as India, Indonesia, Thailand and possiblythe newly-emerging Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s textile andgarment industry has to largely depend on imported raw materials, makingits products hard to vie with those from other countries.
Thesame situation is also happening in the wood processing industry.According to Nguyen Minh Thao from the Central Institute for EconomicManagement, Vietnam imports some 80 percent of timber, which make up 30 –40 percent of a wood product’s value.
Recently, materialsneeded for making handicrafts like rattan, bamboo, wood and pottery havealso been imported from China, Laos and Cambodia.
Highmaterials cost and shipment charges along with strict requirements setby the EU are also deemed as considerable barriers to the Europeanmarket for Vietnamese products.-VNA
