Accordingly, the plan aims to enhance communications and provide information relevant to the Agreement for management agencies at central and local levels, associations, co-operatives and business community through communication agencies, websites, training courses and conferences.  

It also heads to strictly, fully and effectively implement commitments and duties of Viet Nam when joining the Agreement, ensuring the realization of consultancy mechanisms and collecting comment from relevant sides during the law and policy establishment process.

According to the plan, Vietnamese competent agencies will continue coordinating with Cuba to set up and complete necessary institutions to launch the Agreement.

Agencies in charge of launching the Agreement at ministries, agencies and localities will be strengthened to join hands with the national-level agencies in realizing the Agreement.  

The plan highlights the tasks of improving the competitive capacity and supporting businesses through building market for potential and advantageous export items, training firms on specific commitments relevant to the Agreement, providing information on the business environment and cooperative opportunities in Cuba and forecasting Cuba’s market and demands on import items. 

The Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and Cuba was inked on November 9, 2018 after two years of negotiations. It has replaced the 1996 deal between the two governments on trade exchange. The 14-chapter document includes regulations on trade in goods, rules of origin, customs management and trade facilitation, trade remedies, technical standards, food safety, and animal and plant quarantine.

Under the agreement, the two sides have pledged to eliminate or reduce tariffs on nearly all imports from each other’s market over the next five years.

Earlier on April 3, 2020, the Vietnamese Government issued Decree No. 39/2020/ND-CP promulgating a list of Viet Nam’s special preferential import tariffs to implement the Viet Nam-Cuba trade deal from now until 2023. A few days later, the MOIT issued Circular No. 08/2020/TT-BTC stipulating rules of origin of goods in the pact.

The deal officially taking effect is expected to contribute to creating a stable and open legal framework for the acceleration of bilateral trade and investment relations.

It will bring tremendous benefits to the business community of the two sides, facilitating goods imports and exports to each other’s market and further expanding two-way trade revenue, contributing to bringing Viet Nam-Cuba economic and trade ties to new heights.

The Viet Nam-Cuba Trade Agreement is considered the first pact that Cuba has signed with an Asian partner, which shows Cuba’s priority toward Viet Nam in its socio-economic integration and development strategy.