Given the COVID-19 epidemic, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which entered into force in August 2020, has helped to boost two-way trade and buffer the impact of the economic downturn, according to an article posted on October 13 by The Business Times of Singapore.

Vietnam has taken various measures in a bid to protect the interest of Vietnamese products and exporters in the EU markets, according to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

There are bright prospects ahead for Vietnamese coffee exports to the Nordic market, particularly as tariffs on coffee beans have been slashed to 0% under the provisions of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), according to the Vietnamese Trade Office in Sweden.

The EVFTA has brought about a range of opportunities for German investors in Vietnam after it came into force more than one year ago.

The Vietnamese Embassy together with the association of Vietnamese enterprises in the Czech Republic, on September 19, held a forum on promoting trade and investment between the nations.

It is forecast that thanks to the effectiveness of the EVFTA, the European markets will have high demand for importing shrimp at year-end.

Vietnam exported 15,870 tonnes of tuna worth US$73.33 million to the European Union in the first half of 2021, up 39.3% and 31.6%, respectively, against the same period last year, according to a journal published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Demand from the European Union and North American markets recovered and rose strongly, boosting the export volume of galvanised steel and offsetting weak domestic consumption in the first half of this year, Việt Dragon Securities Corporation (VDSC) said in a report.

No European business has left Vietnam due to Covid-19, but continued restrictions and delayed vaccination could cause them to do so.

A Czech Republic-Vietnam trade forum was held in Brno City, the capital of the South Moravian Region on September 10, aiming to provide local enterprises with information on Vietnam’s business environment.