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.
The agreement was first envisaged in 2012. Vietnamese products at present are levied taxes in the 8-12 per cent range by the EU.
As part of Vietnam’s efforts to attract European investment and buyers, ten companies from the Vietnam Textile and Garment Association (VITAS) attended Apparel Sourcing Paris, a leading European sourcing trade fair, in Paris from September 18-21, a Vietnamese news agency reported.
According to the trade office of the Vietnamese Embassy in France, France is the Vietnamese textile industry’s fifth largest market in the EU. With export revenues worth 3 billion euros every year, Vietnam is the sixth largest garment supplier to the EU. (DS)
