The implementation of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is expected to provide a window of opportunity for firms to do business and goods to be traded between the country and the EU amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to several European media outlets.

Prestigious news publication Reuters of the UK has recently published an article outlining the nation’s benefits brought about by the EVFTA when it officially comes into force, noting that the trade pact will serve to eliminate 99% of tariffs placed on goods traded between the country and the bloc, whilst also providing the nation with a much-needed post-pandemic boost.

Reuters noted that the trade deal will serve to open up many Vietnamese services, including postal, banking, shipping, and public procurement markets, whilst protecting the import of EU food and drink products, such as French champagne or Greek feta cheese, from imitations in the Vietnamese market.

The article quoted statistics from the World Bank, saying that the EVFTA could boost the nation’s gross domestic product and exports by 2.4% and 12% by 2030, respectively, whilst also serving to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.

“Such benefits are particularly urgent to lock in positive economic gains as the country responds to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the World Bank said.

Supporting this viewpoint, Pier Giorgio Aliberti, head of the delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, spoke highly of the Vietnamese side’s active participation in global value chains, which will therefore create opportunities to promote the benefits of diversifying trade relations following the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EVFTA will be able to contribute to accelerating economic growth and trade activities between both sides as Vietnamese people will now be able to purchase higher quality products from the EU at an affordable price, according to Aliberti. Indeed, Vietnamese firms have been given the chance to make inroads into the EU market by promoting high standards along with a huge purchasing power. 

Analysing the benefits of the impending trade deal, Cecilia Malmstrom, former EU Trade Commissioner, recommended that EU financiers boost investment in the Vietnamese market, adding that the EU’s current level of investment remains modest.

Malmstrom expressed her belief that more comprehensive protection for investors of both sides will lead to the EU’s investment in the nation increasing significantly. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affecting many countries globally, the EVFTA enforcement will be of great significance as it can help to accelerate economic recovery, whilst mapping out orientations for the shift in production and supply chain in both a sustainable and balanced manner for EU member states and for Vietnam.

German news publication DW also ran an article on the EVFTA, affirming that it is the EU's most ambitious trade deal with a developing country to date, whilst it will also give the Southeast Asian country a much-needed economic boost amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam represents one of the world's fastest-growing economies and the EU's second-largest trading partner in Southeast Asia after Singapore, according to the prestigious DW news website. 

The article quoted Vietnamese economist Pham Chi Lan as saying that the implementation of the deal, "can't come at a better time for Vietnam when it's on the path of economic recovery after several months of closure due to COVID-19.”