Vietnam introduces investment, trade potential in Belgium
Vietnam’s potential and advantages in investment and trade once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) take effect were introduced at the ASEAN Trade and Investment Forum in Brussels, Belgium, on April 4.
Brussels (VNA) –Vietnam’s potential and advantages in investment and trade once the EU-VietnamFree Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement(EVIPA) take effect were introduced at the ASEAN Trade and Investment Forum inBrussels, Belgium, on April 4.
Speaking at the forum, NguyenCanh Cuong, Minister Counsellor and head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgiumand the EU, briefed on Vietnam’s import-export with the EU in general andBelgium in particular as well as the country’s major competitive advantages.
Vietnam considers the EU one ofits top partners, he said, adding that when the EVFTA and EVIPA are signed andratified in the near future, investors in the Vietnamese market, particularlythose operate in the IT and green industries and at manufacturing-processingindustrial parks, will be offered investment and tax incentives.
Once the EVFTA goes into effect,the EU will eliminate import duties on approximately 85.6 percent of itstariffs lines on Vietnamese products. After seven years, 99 percent of EUtariffs will be removed for Vietnamese products. Vietnamese textiles, footwear,and seafood products (except for canned tuna and fish balls) will incur noimport duties within seven years after the agreement takes effect.
Vietnam will eliminate 65 percentof its import duties on EU items and has drawn up a roadmap to eliminatetariffs by over 99 percent over the next decade. The remaining export itemswill be offered tariff quotas with an import duty of zero percent.
The forum was organised by theASEAN-Brussels Committee, bringing together almost 200 representatives fromleading Belgian and EU companies.
The Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.
On the back of rising purchasingpower of its 630 million citizens, the 10-member bloc has a collective GDP of2.8 trillion USD, making it the sixth-largest economy in the world.-VNA
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Scene at the event (Photo: VNA) 
