At the handover ceremony. (Source: MoIT)

The project was launched in 2020 under a letter of intention signed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the British Department of International Trade, in which the British side provided technical assistance for Vietnam.

It demonstrates the Vietnamese Government’s resolve to enhance trade commitment and policy transparency in order to help enterprises build business strategies, and improve competitiveness and capacity for joining global production and supply chains, MoIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said.

The VNTR provides information free of charge in both English and Vietnamese, covering tariff commitments in free trade agreements (FTAs) within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to which Vietnam is a signatory, most favoured nation (MFN) tariff, rules of product origin and non-tariff measures, along with trade documents.

It also introduces the best trade facilitation practices applied by ASEAN members, along with the lists of businesses given priority in handling tax, export, import, and customs clearance procedures in the member countries of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) and the FTAs between ASEAN and partner countries.

According to the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), each member country will build its own national trade repository which is connected with the ASEAN Trade Repository (https://atr.asean.org/) so as to ensure policy transparency, facilitate regional trade, and support businesses.

Dien thanked the Government; the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; and the Embassy of the UK in Vietnam along with relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies for their support and coordination during the building of the repository.