Trading Among Partners: The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement

The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into force on 1 August 2020 and is the most comprehensive and ambitious trade and investment agreement that the EU has ever concluded with a developing country in Asia. For the EU it is the second free trade agreement in the ASEAN region, after the agreement with Singapore, and it has intensified bilateral relations between Vietnam and the EU on all fronts. For Vietnam it is an equally important milestone in the establishment of preferential trade with its key partners, following the country’s successful and forward-looking accession to the World Trade Organization.

The EU Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, in an effort to fill the EVFTA with further life and to assist stakeholders in realizing the potentials and opportunities brought by the EVFTA, is pleased to organize a full-day workshop titled “The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement – Benefits, Opportunities, Challenges”. The workshop manager shall be Dr. Carsten Schittek – Minister Counselor of the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam.

The workshop will feature opening and closing plenary sessions as well as four interactive thematic sessions, with presentations from Vietnamese government officials, EU delegates and experts, leaving significant space for involvement from participants in the integrated Q&A sessions. While the workshop will allow for exchanges among delegates on the full breadth of the EVFTA, the focus of the four substantive sessions will be on four topical themes, namely:

- Trade Facilitation

- Rules of Origin

- Intellectual Property

- Public Procurement.

Trade Facilitation is a key ‘front line’ concern of all those involved in the practical side of trade in goods. Delays, costs and unpredictabilities in the actual practice of getting goods across borders can easily upend the calculations on which trade and value chain management rely. The EVFTA represents the high and modern ambitions of both partners in this area. The workshop will look inter alia at recent and upcoming developments in Vietnam, including those related to digitization of customs and related processes.

Rules of Origin are the ‘Achilles heel’ of all FTAs, as they and their implementation determine to a good extent the actual utilization of tariff preferences by the businesses on both sides. The EVFTA applies the time-tested approach to rules of origin practiced by the EU in its FTAs. The rules are complex, but at the same time aim to facilitate their own application. The workshop will offer the opportunity to discuss their implementation and application in Vietnam in particular.

Intellectual Property protection is major concern of businesses in both the EU and Vietnam. The EVFTA aims to support modern policymaking, rulemaking and enforcement in this area. Vietnam has seen extensive developments on all those fronts in the past years, starting long before the EVFTA. The workshop will look at recent and impending developments on the level of laws and regulations, and also consider, not least, the question of ‘real life’ enforcement of intellectual property rights of Vietnamese and European businesses.

Government procurement, finally, represents a very significant share of the value of potential trade between the partners. At the same time procurement can be politically and economically sensitive. The EVFTA charts a progressive, forward-looking way, covering not all but a sizeable part of procurement, especially on the central government level. The workshop will offer the chance to review and discuss where things stand, and where developments are to be expected in the foreseeable future.

The workshop will bring together stakeholder representatives from the Vietnamese government, the EU and its Member States, EU and Vietnamese businesses as well as civil society. Stakeholders will have ample time to share their questions and concerns and have them answered by regulators and experts.

Coffee breaks and a buffet lunch offered at the workshop venue, Lotte Hotel in Hanoi, will provide additional opportunities for exchanges and networking among speakers and participants. Recordings of the sessions will be made available online after the event.

We look forward to a rich and enriching exchange. Thank you in advance for your participation.