On the afternoon of March 3rd, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that on March 2nd, at the Ministry's headquarters, Acting Minister Le Manh Hung held a working meeting with the Chairman of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Bakytzhan Sagintayev, on the occasion of the Chairman's visit to Viet Nam.

During the meeting, one of the issues that Acting Minister Le Manh Hung proposed to the Russian Federation and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was to further open the Vietnamese seafood market.

Acting Minister Le Manh Hung affirmed that the Eurasian Economic Union has always been a traditional, reliable, and important trading partner of Viet Nam. This was the first economic region in Europe to sign an FTA (VN-EAEU FTA - Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union) with Viet Nam, and it has had a remarkable impact over the past 10 years on all participating countries.

After 10 years of implementation, the Agreement has achieved many very positive results. Approximately 60% of tariff lines were reduced to 0% immediately upon the Agreement's entry into force in 2016; the remainder will be implemented according to a 10-year roadmap and will be essentially completed by 2025. The Agreement has significantly contributed to boosting bilateral trade. Import and export turnover increased from US$3.04 billion in 2016 to US$5.94 billion in 2025, almost doubling in 10 years. Average growth was nearly 30% per year during the 2017-2018 period. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2019-2022, trade recovered from 2023 and is expected to continue growing in 2024-2025.

The trade structure between the two sides is complementary, helping businesses take full advantage of tariff preferences and increase competitiveness. Many key products have recorded high growth thanks to the preferential treatment from the VN-EAEU FTA, such as seafood, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, and textiles from Viet Nam... entering the Eurasian Economic Union market.

However, the Acting Minister of Industry and Trade also shared that there are still some obstacles that need to be overcome. Viet Nam requested the EAEU to consider not continuing to apply the safeguard measures (Trigger) to Vietnamese textiles and garments, as this mechanism is no longer consistent with market practices and international norms. At the same time, Viet Nam requested the Russian Federation and the EAEU to further open the Vietnamese seafood market, consider lifting the suspension, and approve more eligible exporting enterprises. Viet Nam also requested the EAEU to share preferential import data to facilitate the assessment of the Agreement's implementation.

EEC Chairman Bakytzhan Sagintayev extended his congratulations to Acting Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung on his new position. He also highly appreciated the coordinating function of the Joint Committee for the Implementation of the Agreement and expressed confidence that the Acting Minister, in his role as co-chair of the Joint Committee, would actively address emerging issues and build a solid cooperation framework to deepen relations between Viet Nam and EAEU countries, bringing many practical benefits to both sides.

Mr. Bakytzhan affirmed that the Viet Nam-EAEU FTA has made a positive contribution to trade growth between the parties, expressed his pleasure at witnessing the growth of bilateral trade turnover, and expressed confidence that with the positive results achieved, cooperation between the two sides will continue to develop strongly in the future.

Both sides agreed to facilitate market access, promptly remove trade barriers, and resolve difficulties to meet cooperation needs and fully exploit the economic potential of the EAEU and Viet Nam. The parties affirmed their continued efforts to promote diversification of supply sources and expand markets for each other to enhance each other's competitiveness and minimize geopolitical risks that could disrupt supply chains.

Source: Tin Tuc News

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