In 2007, with Vietnam’s ascension into the World Trade Organization (WTO) – it took a significant step integrating with world trade and subsequently entering into several free trade agreements.
Over the past few years, Vietnam has been active in signing bilateral trade agreements with countries throughout the world. Additionally, due to its membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam has become a party to several FTAs that the regional trade bloc has signed.
The benefits of the free trade agreements will enable Vietnam’s economic development to continue to shift away from exporting low-tech manufacturing products and primary goods to more complex high-tech goods like electronics, machinery, vehicles and medical devices.
This can be done in two ways – first, through more diversified sourcing partners through larger trade networks and cheaper imports of intermediate goods from partner countries, which should boost the competitiveness of Vietnam’s exports.
Second – through partnership with foreign firms that can transfer the knowledge and technology needed to make the jump into higher valued-added production. An example of this is the recently launched VSmart phone manufactured by Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup.
Read this Vietnam Briefing article in its entirety to learn more about:
- The benefit of FTAs;
- Challenges posed by FTAs;
- Future growth from FTAs;
- How to choose a professional service frim to evaluate FTAs for your business.
This is an exerpt from an article appearing in Vietnam Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. For the latest economic, regulatory and business news from Vietnam, visit vietnam-briefing.com.
