FTA - a major highway to boost Vietnam's trade
On the afternoon of April 8, at the Government headquarters, the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Government Office to organize the Ceremony to announce the Index to evaluate the results of implementing Free Trade Agreements of localities - FTA Index in 2024.
Speaking at the Announcement Ceremony, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that the development of a set of indexes to evaluate the implementation results of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) of localities - FTA Index is a great effort of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant ministries.
"On that basis, the Government will better understand the implementation of support for businesses to take advantage of FTAs in localities to have instructions and supervision of FTA implementation in localities. At the same time, it is the basis for planning policies and strategies suitable to the development conditions and potential of each locality, contributing to promoting traditional growth momentum - exports" - the Prime Minister emphasized.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that the trend of globalization and international economic integration is increasingly widespread; strategic competition and trade wars between major countries are increasingly fierce.
In particular, the increasing trend of trade protection, along with the recent decision of US President Donald Trump to impose a counterpart tax of 10% to 49% on goods of all countries when imported into the US, negatively affects international trade activities...
In the above context, FTAs have become a leading trend and are considered "big roads" to promote trade exchanges between countries.
In addition to the achieved results, the Commander of the Industry and Trade sector also pointed out that the implementation of FTAs in the past has also revealed some shortcomings and limitations that need to be promptly overcome.
"The taking of opportunities from FTAs between localities and businesses is not uniform, especially in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. Many businesses have not updated information fully, do not clearly understand specific commitments and do not have enough capacity to meet standards on origin, technology, environment, and labor.
In addition, the coordination between central agencies, local authorities and the business community in implementing FTAs is not really synchronous and effective, reducing the spillover impact of free trade agreements" - Minister Nguyen Hong Dien assessed.
Evidence of Vietnam's commitment to implementing FTAs
According to the Minister of Industry and Trade, to promptly overcome the above limitations, the Government has assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop a set of indices to evaluate the results of implementing Free Trade Agreements of localities - FTA Index. Thereby, creating and providing a transparent, objective, and comprehensive database on the level of FTA implementation in each locality.
In the context of global trade experiencing many complex and unpredictable fluctuations, the FTA Index is a clear demonstration, affirming to international trade partners Vietnam's commitment to implementing FTAs of which our country is a member - Minister Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed.
Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized that evaluating the FTA implementation results through this Index is not only for "comparison", but also a driving force to promote localities and business communities to effectively implement and optimize opportunities from FTAs.
Thereby diversifying markets, supply chains and export products, contributing to maintaining sustainable export growth momentum and realizing the practical and effective international economic integration goal set by the Party and State.
