Over the first 10 months of operation of the Free
Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU),
exports of goods from the Union countries to Vietnam increased by 32% compared
to the same period in 2015-2016. Supplies of Vietnamese products to the markets
of the EAEU grew by 28%. This was reported by the EEC Board Member - Minister
in charge of Customs Cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC)
Mukai Kadyrkulov in Hanoi at a press conference dedicated to the first
anniversary of the entry into force of the aforementioned Agreement.
The EEC Minister noted that new, previously unforecasted
markets opened for certain types of goods. For example, Vietnamese radio and
navigation equipment has become extremely popular in the Union - its import
during the period of the FTA has grown by more than 900 times. A similar situation is in the market for
paper and cardboard from the EAEU. The supplies to Vietnam increased by 2,700
times.
During the period of the FTA, the EAEU zeroed out the
rates of import customs duties for Vietnam for 43% of the total amount of
tariff lines of the Common Customs Tariff of the Eurasian Economic Union (CCT
EAEU). According to Mukai Kadyrkulov, during 10 years, duty-free import of goods
to the common Union market for Vietnamese exporters will be expanded and
finally cover 90% of lines of the CTT EAEU.
Minister for customs cooperation drew attention to the
fact that cooperation between the EAEU countries and Vietnam is not limited to
the standard exchange of finished goods and components.
"Our countries are establishing joint production.
A factory for production of Belarusian trucks MAZ with a capacity of up to
1,500 units a year is being built in Vietnam. The parties agreed to achieve
localization of production at the level of 40% in four years, engaging local
Vietnamese components. A few joint Russian-Vietnamese and Belarusian-Vietnamese
automotive enterprises can be established in future, that will cover the needs
of markets of the ASEAN countries," the EEC Minister said.
Mukai Kadyrkulov also spoke about the upcoming launch
of information exchange in test mode between customs bodies of the EAEU countries
and Vietnam.
“Customs bodies of the Union countries and Vietnam are
working on information exchange on goods and vehicles that move between our
countries under the FTA. The third round of negotiations has just concluded at
the site of the General Customs Administration of Vietnam. We have agreed with
our Vietnamese counterparts on all the principal issues. I think that next year
we will start to share customs information in trial mode for a limited group of
products. Communication between customs bodies will enhance confidence of the
countries in supply chain security management systems. This, in its turn, will
facilitate trade between our countries," the EEC Minister said.
For reference, the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU countries and
Vietnam entered into force on October 5, 2016. Vietnam became the first trade
partner with which an agreement on preferential trade was concluded. Today, the
EEC is negotiating free trade conditions with seven other countries, including
Iran, Israel, India, Serbia, and Singapore.