Promoting two-way trade, attracting EU FDI key to implementing EVFTA

Vietnamese exports focus on a few large markets like Germany, the Netherlands, France and Italy, while staying modest to other markets throughout the bloc.

Statistics from Vietnam’s ministry of industry and trade indicate despite the negative impact of the pandemic, two-way EU-Vietnam trade reached $57 billion last year, up by 15 per cent from the previous year.

Of the total value, the country shipped $40.07 billion worth of exports to the EU, an increase of 14 per cent, while it spent $17 billion on imports from the bloc, up by 16.1 per cent compared to 2020.

Andreas Soffers, country director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Institute in Vietnam (FNF), suggested Vietnamese businesses open the market up to each EU member state more strongly, reasoning that the bloc proves to be a neutral and fair trading partner amid rising tensions between the United States and China.

The faster that market penetration occurs, the greater benefits Vietnamese export industries will reap from the process, the researcher was quoted as saying by a Vietnamese media outlet.

Vietnam attracted more than $31 billion in FDI capital last year. The majority of the capital flows were sourced from Japan and South Korea, while capital from the EU remained limited.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)