Bilateral trade recorded rapid and stable growth
According to preliminary figures from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, in less than 5 years, bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and the EU reached 298 billion USD. This figure accounts for nearly 40% of the total cumulative trade turnover between the two sides (815 billion USD) in more than 30 years of trade cooperation since 1995.
Sharing about the results achieved after the Agreement came into effect, Deputy Director of the Multilateral Policy Department Ngo Chung Khanh said that EVFTA has brought very positive benefits to two-way trade and to Vietnam's key export industries. Accordingly, since 2020 when the Agreement came into effect, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the EU increased from 55.4 billion USD in 2020 to 68.3 billion USD in 2024. Of which, Vietnam's export turnover to the EU reached 40.1 billion USD in 2020, increasing to 51.6 billion USD in 2024, an increase of about 28.6% and the trade surplus between Vietnam and the EU increased from 24.8 billion USD in 2020 to 34.9 billion USD.
Notably, the rate of enterprises and industries taking advantage of the Agreement has had very positive results; in which many industries such as agricultural products, seafood, textiles, footwear... have been and are taking advantage very well.
Deputy Director of Multilateral Trade Policy Department - Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh
In fact, since the EVFTA officially took effect, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has submitted to the Government an Implementation Plan; the Prime Minister also directed ministries, branches and localities to develop implementation plans... Immediately after the implementation plans were issued, ministries, branches and localities have closely coordinated with associations and industries to implement business support activities with many contents such as disseminating information about EVFTA, supporting businesses in sustainable development...
Basically, these contents have been positively impacting the implementation and taking advantage of incentives from the EVFTA Agreement. Thereby bringing positive effects to businesses, not only for Vietnamese businesses but also bringing benefits to European businesses, European businesses operating in Vietnam.
Along with that, since the EVFTA took effect, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has calculated and recorded that on average, there are 340 - 350 conferences, seminars and training courses organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, relevant ministries, branches, localities, associations and enterprises each year. Not to mention events, trade fair activities, activities implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic, online training activities... Information about the EVFTA Agreement appears continuously and densely through mass media and press agencies, helping businesses and people understand more clearly, more fully and more accurately about the EVFTA Agreement.
Businesses demonstrate quick adaptability
With strict standards and conditions, the EU market is always considered a difficult market for many export enterprises. Along with that, policies and standards for entering the EU are constantly changing and requiring higher standards. However, Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh also emphasized that the EU is a good market, a potential market, with high market standards, but the important issue is that exporting to the EU brings high value. In fact, many enterprises are exporting well to this market. He added that recently, when the United States changed its tariff policies, many enterprises shifted to the EU market and achieved good growth. This shows the good adaptability of Vietnamese enterprises.
However, the Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department also frankly stated that, in terms of the proportion of exports to the EU market in Vietnam's total exports of goods, the results have not been as expected. This is a point that needs attention, because the EU is a large, traditional market, but the market share of some of Vietnam's export products is still relatively modest, including key products such as vegetables, seafood, textiles, footwear, etc. Thus, there is still a lot of room to promote export growth to the EU market. Along with the issue of market share, the work of building Vietnamese product brands in the EU market also needs attention.
At present, the EU is stepping up negotiations and promoting the signing of FTAs with many partners. Thus, Vietnamese goods will face the risk of losing their competitive advantage in this market. Therefore, we must take advantage of the tariff advantages from EVFTA, urgently adjust business plans and strategies to target the EU market. "In the past, businesses have adapted, but in the current context, businesses must change their thinking and have new ways of doing things" - Deputy Director Ngo Chung Khanh emphasized.
In order to better utilize EVFTA as well as increase export market share to the EU market, in recent times, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has closely coordinated with ministries, branches, localities, and associations to implement many activities and has also recorded positive results. In the coming time, Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh said that these activities will also be further promoted. Specifically, firstly, regarding propaganda, instead of quantity, we must shift to quality, conferences and seminars that closely follow those who need advice, information, guidance, and have flexible forms of propaganda. Second, for support measures, deploy support solutions with more focus and key points such as building solutions to support businesses in accessing the market, supporting intellectual property protection, etc. Currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is developing an Ecosystem Project to take advantage of free trade agreements (FTAs) for industries; Connecting business entities, industries, agencies, ministries, and localities with the ultimate goal of helping businesses become larger, stronger, and position their brands in the export market. Third, promoting the deployment and implementation of the FTA Index, especially in the context of more decentralization, decentralization, and assignment of authority to localities and communes with the aim of helping businesses make more effective use of the EVFTA.
“The Ministry of Industry and Trade also hopes to have close coordination from local authorities because many of the Ministry’s powers have been decentralized and delegated to localities,” Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh shared, emphasizing that the Ministry’s role is to support, and localities need to be more proactive, closely coordinating with ministries, branches, and associations to promote better utilization of this Agreement. The Government has been trying to create the best opportunities for businesses, but above all, businesses must make the best use of them.
Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/thi-truong-nuoc-ngoai/hiep-dinh-evfta-hanh-trinh-5-nam-thuc-thi-va-nhung-ket-qua-tich-cuc-cho-thuong-mai-song-phuong.html
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