EU, Vietnam finally ink free-trade deal 
2019-07-01
The European Union and Vietnam signed a long-awaited free-trade deal yesterday that will slash duties on almost all goods as fears grow over mounting global protectionism.
Once the deal takes effect, the EU will lift 85 percent of its tariffs on Vietnamese goods, gradually cutting the rest over the following seven years.
Meanwhile, Vietnam will lift 49 percent of its import duties on EU exports when the agreement is started. The rest will be phased out over 10 years.
The deal was hailed by EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom as “an important milestone” between the trading partners.
“We want to make sure that EU trade in this region has a positive impact so we have enshrined high standards in the deal,” she said at the signing ceremony yesterday.
The deal will come into force only once it is ratified, which could come by the end of the year. It comes on the heels of a landmark agreement on Friday between the EU and South American trade bloc Mercosur that will link 800 million people in what will be one of the world’s largest regional commercial accords.
Vietnam’s export-led economy has largely been buoyed by free trade and open access to the European market is expected to boost its main deliveries to the bloc, namely textiles, shoes, smartphones and computer parts.
European countries are also eager to tap into Vietnam’s market of 95 million people and its fast-mushrooming consumer class.
Vietnam has seen some short-term gains from the trade spat. With exports from Vietnam to the US soaring amid the trade spat, US President Donald Trump last week threatened to slap tariffs on the manufacturing hub, calling it “the single worst abuser of everybody.”
The EU-Vietnam free-trade pact will eventually see duties slashed on 99 percent of Europe’s imports from Vietnam.
Billed as a so-called “high-quality deal,” it also includes rules around labor rights and environmental and intellectual property protections.
