Webinar reviews one-year implementation of EVFTA

Participants to the event looked at difficulties in carrying out the deal and proposed solutions to maximise the benefits brought by it.

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc said that taking effect in August 2020, when the economies of the two sides and the whole world are struggling to overcome difficulties from the COVID-19 pandemic, the agreement has other expectations, becoming one of the drivers for businesses and economies of both sides.

He underlined the need to have solutions from both State policies and strategies from businesses to handle all the risks at present and in the future.

Besides Vietnam, the EU has FTAs with three economies in Asia, including Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. Vietnam has no direct competitors among these, Loc said.

The EVFTA has contributed significantly to Vietnam's aquatic export achievements in recent times. Up to 50 percent of tariff lines were reduced to zero percent before 2020, including tax rates for key exports.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic is strongly affecting raw material production, reducing the opportunity of Vietnam to take advantage of preferential tax lines, he noted.

In the remaining months of 2021, Vietnam's aquatic exports to the EU is forecast to be severely affected by the pandemic, possibly down at least 9 percent over the same period last year, reaching 3.66 billion USD.

Vietnam is predicted to earn 8.6 billion USD from exporting aquatic products this year, up 2.7 percent compared to the figure of 2020./.