The Vietnam – EU free trade agreement (EVFTA) is considered an important push for the connection of businesses and exported goods to the EU market. Besides e-commerce, changing manufacturing processes and satisfying the origin of goods are also important factors for Vietnamese enterprises to take advantage of opportunities from the deal.

Textile and garment industry has had many opportunities to increase export
turnover to the EU thanks to EVFTA. Photo: N. Thanh

Pave the way for imports and exports

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first months of implementing the EVFTA (from the beginning of August to the end of December 2020), Vietnam's export turnover to the EU increased by 3.8%. In the first three months of 2021, Vietnam's exports to the EU reached $9.9 billion, an increase of 18% over the same period last year.

Vietnamese enterprises have quickly approached and made good use of opportunities from the EVFTA, so the export surplus in the first two months of 2021 with the EU market was US$4 billion, up 36.3% over the same period last year. The items with the highest growth in exports to the EU in the first months of the EVFTA are raw materials; rubber products; computers, electronic products and components; iron and steel; and chemicals.

Regarding exports to the EU, recently the e-commerce floor of Vietnam - EU enterprises launched as part of the program "Cooperation to support enterprises to take advantage of EVFTA through e-commerce" is considered an important push to promote the export of goods to the EU market in the future.

Mr. Nguyen Kim Hung, Director of Vietnam Institute of Business Administration Science and Digital Economy, said: “The e-commerce exchange of Vietnam - EU enterprises was formed as a trading platform between enterprises (B2B Marketplace), since then, contributing to the realisation of a "large-scale expressway" to connect Vietnamese businesses with international trading partners, especially those from Europe. This trading floor helps Vietnamese enterprises, EU enterprises, as well as other international partners easily connect and carry out commercial activities, paving the way for imports and exports.”

When completed, this e-commerce exchange is able to directly connect existing e-commerce exchanges of provinces, cities and commodity lines, thereby building a national database on capacity profile that is transparent on the origin of information and services of Vietnamese enterprises. It was also a portal that provides all necessary information for the Vietnamese business community as well as international partners about trade agreements and policies related to international trade activities.

"We also strived to build a complete digital ecosystem through solutions (digital payment, logistics, electronic invoices, digital signatures) to help businesses connecting, convenient trade on a single platform," Hung said.

Taking advantage of the opportunities from EVFTA

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Cao Quoc Hung said the e-commerce platform of Vietnam-EU enterprises would be the first step in the roadmap to create a fundamental solution, using technology as the core to support small and medium sized businesses and household business as well as taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the EVFTA.

"It is recommended that organisations and enterprises build a foundation to ensure information safety and security for businesses to feel secure when operating on the digital ecosystem," Deputy Minister Cao Quoc Hung said.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Cuong, Technology Director of Kim Nam Tech Co., Ltd., said: “The e-commerce platform Vietnam - EU allows businesses to exchange goods with a much larger transaction scale compared to conventional e-commerce platforms like Lazada or Sendo. Currently, we are allowing connections between Vietnamese businesses with the EU on a digital platform; allowing the export of "Made in Vietnam" goods to the EU. The main commodities are agriculture, fisheries, and footwear, helping improve Vietnam's production level.”

From the perspective of enterprises' representatives, Chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises of Vietnam Nguyen Van Than said: “In the future, the association wanted to accompany the Ministry of Industry and Trade, with members to research solutions. Especially, focusing on digital transformation and e-commerce solutions to help Vietnamese enterprises take advantage of the EVFTA.”

Besides promoting e-commerce, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import and Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that, with the EU market, many Vietnamese products have the advantage of export and also advantages of using the cumulative origins in the EVFTA. For example, for textile and garment products, Vietnam could add Korean material sources. These were advantages only in the EVFTA.

“Vietnamese enterprises could take advantage of the benefits of the agreement, first of all, understanding what advantages the agreement can bring in their own fields and in their products. Thereby, enterprises could change the manufacturing process, change the supply of raw materials, meet the requirements of the origin of goods and enjoy the low tax rates brought by the agreement,” the leader of the Import and Export Department said