Australian consumers taste Vietnamese lychees in a supermarket. (Photo: VNA) That was the remark made by Trinh Anh Tuan, General Director of the TradeRemedies Authority of Vietnam, at the workshop 'Introduction of Vietnam's andAustralia's trade remedy systems for importers and exporters' held in Hanoi onJune 28.
Tuan said Vietnam did not have much experience in trade remedies because it wasnot until 2015 that the country began to conduct trade defence investigationsto counteract unfair commercial practices.
Meanwhile, Australia has been around a lot longer with more than 400investigations since 1995, having much experience to share in this regard.
"Vietnam appreciates every single opportunity to learn from trade-savvycountries, such as Australia," said Tuan.
The general director also revealed that Vietnamese exporters had been subjectto 231 investigations to date, of which Australia initiated 18. Those incidentscaused severe financial damages to the companies involved.
He said the growing entry of foreign goods into Vietnamese markets, which wasfacilitated by the country's favourable trade policy and the removal of tradebarriers under FTAs, had exposed the need for more trade measures to controlthe commercial flow and prevent unfair practices.
Andrew Goledzinowski, Australia's Ambassador to Vietnam, said the bilateralrelationship had made significant progress over the past years, with closeeconomic ties at its heart.
He said Vietnam's steady growth after the COVID-19 pandemic had been atestament to its effort in restructuring the economy in the light of the FourthIndustrial Revolution.
The year 2023 would mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-Australiadiplomatic relationship, which is an opportunity for both countries to bringthe economic tie to a new height.
It is also worth noting that Vietnam and Australia both have been admitted tothree shared FTAs, namely the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement,the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, andthe Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Vietnam remains the 10th largest tradepartners of Austrlia while Australia the 7th largest to Vietnam. In 2022,bilateral trade hit 15.7 billion USD, up 27% year by year./.
VNA
