Experts feel the Vietnam-European Union (EU) free trade agreement (FTA), which may tentatively be ratified by early 2018, will allow Vietnam to consolidate its position as a leading exporter to the EU. After the deal takes effect, 71 per cent of Vietnamese exports to the EU will be duty free while other tax lines will be dropped in the following seven years.

A top European trade official warned Friday that a free trade pact with Vietnam could be scuppered if the communist country fails to address rights issues, saying the matter was central to ongoing talks.

The Việt Nam-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect in December 2015, has given a big boost to economic ties between the two countries, a Korean diplomat told a seminar in HCM City yesterday

The Department of Export and Import under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said this is towards ensuring safety for the environment and sustainable and effective economic development.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which is considered a comprehensive trade agreement covering a wide area of sectors and also has an equal elimination of tariffs from both sides, is anticipated to bring about benefits and opportunities for both economies in multiple ways throughout the years.

A free trade agreement between the European Union and Latin American bloc Mercosur is close to being concluded, with a final push over the line seen by early September, Argentina’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, speaking at his talks with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc in The Hague on Monday, said the Netherlands supports the early signing and ratification of the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement.

The Korea-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has been the key driver in Korea’s soaring exports and investment into Vietnam, especially in the foodstuffs and consumer foods sector.

Leaders of the European Union told Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc they would speed up review of the bloc’s free trade agreement with Việt Nam with a view to signing it as soon as possible.

Vietnamese firms should step up efforts to boost exports to the EU despite facing several difficulties, a senior official said yesterday.