A host of proposals aimed at elevating bilateral trade and investment
links between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) have been presented
at the Vietnam-EU Business Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on May 29.
The forum was coorganised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (VCCI)’s Ho Chi Minh City Chapter and the EU Delegation to
Vietnam .
Last year, the EU surpassed the US to
become Vietnam’s second largest trade partner and leading
importer of Vietnamese commodities with total export-import turnover
hitting about 29.09 billion USD, up 19.77 percent year-on-year.
In the first three months of this year, two-way trade between
Vietnam and the EU exceeded 6 billion USD, an increase of 26.18
percent over the same period last year.
However,
from next year, the EU will apply a new Generalised Scheme of
Preferences (GSP) system, under which a number of Vietnam ’s export
items such as footwear, handbags and umbrellas entitled to GSP during
the 2009-2013 period will no longer enjoy the treatment in the 2014-2016
period.
The Director of the European Department
under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Dang Trung Hai, added that
apart from tax barriers, local enterprises should pay more attention to
technical standards and food hygiene.
On this
occasion, experts from the EU Delegation presented practical solutions
to help Vietnamese businesses make the best use of the Free Trade
Agreement and build strategies for effectively penetrating the EU
market.
They advised local businesses to use the EU
Export-Helpdesk, an online service offered by the European Commission to
get accurate information about the market and partners in the EU.-VNA