Vietnamese firms open doors to the European market

Update: 30-10-2021 | 11:29:22

Entering the "new normalcy”, firms need to adapt flexibly, open up all resources for economic recovery and growth, ensuring the supply chain. Industry and trade authority are actively supporting and solving difficulties of enterprises in production and business.

To take advantage of effective offers

One year after the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has officially taken effective, many enterprises have taken advantage of preferential treatment through the use of certificates of origin (C/O). The competitiveness of Vietnamese goods is improving significantly in the EU market. Vietnam has now risen to become the EU's largest commodity trading partner in the ASEAN region, with two-way trade turnover in 2020 reaching EUR 43.2 billion, ranking in the Top 10 largest suppliers of goods to the EU market.

Enterprises make efforts to fill export orders as soon as the pandemic is controlled. In photo: Production activities at Panko Vina Company (Ben Cat town).

Nguyen Thanh Toan, Director of provincial Department of Industry and Trade, assessed that the Covid-19 pandemic continued to be complicated in the country as well as the world. However, the U.S. and Europe are gradually or completely lifting the lockdown, and the demand for goods of these market is recovering. This is an opportunity for businesses in Binh Duong to boost exports of key industrial products. Free trade agreements, including EVFTA, are gradually being implemented in a more comprehensive and effective way, which have been creating favorable conditions for provincial exports to penetrate deeply into partner markets with preferential tariffs. Currently, the EU is the third largest export market of Binh Duong. Over the first 9 months of this year, export turnover to the EU market accounted for 9.7% of total export turnover of the province.

Binh Duong business community expressed optimism about the prospects for economic recovery and development of Trade and Investment Relations between Vietnam and the EU in the "new normalcy". On the other hand, there are also some immediate challenges, especially the complex and unpredictable development of the Covid-19 pandemic. Phan The Hai, Director of Trieu Phu Loc Company (Tan Uyen town), which has been at the forefront of the EVFTA since the beginning of 2020, said the company is employing 600 workers specializing in producing high-end furniture to supply export companies. The EVFTA agreement has opened up many opportunities for furniture enterprises in general. The EU is a large, potential market with economic stability, and prefers high-value goods. The company is proactively integrating, creates products that meet very strict standards of this market.

Trinh Thi Hong Chau, Director of Kim Chung Mechanical Company (Tan Uyen town), said this is a very difficult but very sustainable market. Over nearly 10 years of struggling with test orders, European partners now have strong links with the company. In the pandemic context, the company has tried to keep in regular contact, provides production information for customers to be assured. Therefore, when production activities are restored, businesses are not too worried about the order issue.

New resilience

At the trade forum "EVFTA - Resilience for investment trade cooperation in the new normal context" held lately, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An affirmed that in the the economic recovery, along with the shaping and development of new investment and trade trends, EVFTA will create favorable conditions and competitiveness for Vietnam to participate in the supply chain restructure with EU partners, opening up opportunities to attract investment capital, advanced technology, creating new resilience.

Nguyen Thanh Toan also affirmed that more than ever, as soon as the pandemic is controlled, businesses need to quickly, actively adapt and innovate to welcome new opportunities. Industry and trade authority strive to stay in contact with Vietnam's Trade in the EU, assist businesses, make the most of the advantages from EVFTA, create all favorable conditions to promote trade, connect investment, support to solve difficulties and problems arising.

Discussing the current problems of expanding cooperation with the EU, Tran Thanh Trong, Vice Chairman of Binh Duong Business Federation, said that the EU has normalized intra-bloc travel but the process of granting visas for Vietnamese businessmen to enter the EU trade transactions is very time consuming. He asked EU ambassadors in Vietnam to assist in issuing visas to the EU to participate in trade more favorably. EU enterprises have the advantage of advanced technology but the delivery time of equipment is too long (currently from 3-6 months), reducing the competitiveness and access to high technology of Vietnamese enterprises.

He proposed the Ministry of Industry and Trade that the EU has lived safely with Covid-19, people entering EU and received enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine do not have to take quarantine. While Vietnam still requires centralized isolation to entries of enterprises receiving enough doses of vaccines. This restricts the trade of EU investors in Vietnam.

Reported by Tieu My – Translated by Ngoc Huynh

Share

Vietnamese firms open doors to the European market

HIGHLIGHTS

MOST READ