In order to summarize the 02 years of implementation of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) from the perspective of trade - investment and building legislation - institutions in Vietnam, and at the same time publish the Report " Vietnam after 02 years of implementing the EVFTA from a business perspective” conducted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commercial and Industry (VCCI) with the support of the FNF Institute based on the results of a survey of more than 500 businesses across the country and Research, review and evaluate legal documents implementing EVFTA in the past two years.

On November 10, 2022, VCCI cooperated with Vietnam FNF Institute to organize a live and online seminar "Evaluating two years of implementation of the EVFTA Agreement in Vietnam from an enterprise perspective".

VCCI’s Vice Chairman – Mr. Hoang Quang Phong

At the workshop, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong - Vice President of VCCI shared that the first 2 years of implementation of the EVFTA Agreement were also a period when the world economy and Vietnam faced unprecedented fluctuations from the COVID-19 epidemic, disruption of supply chains, to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a crisis of capacity, food... However, macro statistics show that the EVFTA has played an important part in mitigating adverse impacts, and helped trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the EU develop positively.

Specifically, in terms of trade, the total export turnover from Vietnam to the EU in the first two years of implementation (August 7, 2020) reached US$83.4 billion, or an average of US$41.7 billion per year, 24% higher than the average export turnover in the previous 2016-2019 period. The proportion of exports taking advantage of EVFTA tariff incentives in 2020 will reach 14.8%, increasing to 20.2% in 2021 and 24.5% in the first 6 months of 2022.

Regarding attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), EU FDI into Vietnam in 2020 reached nearly 1,376 million USD in registered capital, down 8.6% compared to 2019, ranking 8th and accounting for 4.8% of total capital FDI into Vietnam. In 2021, the situation will improve, with a total capital of more than 1,405 million USD, an increase of 2.2%, helping the EU rise to 5th place but the proportion of total FDI decreased slightly, accounting for 4.5%. In particular, the average total investment capital in the 2017-2021 period (the period after the EVFTA is completed) increased by 86% compared to the previous period of 2015-2016. However, investment in Vietnam only accounts for a very modest proportion of the EU's total outward investment (0.35% in 2021).

Ms. Nguyen Cam Trang - Deputy Director of Import-Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade shared at the Workshop.

At the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Cam Trang - Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade also assessed that the EVFTA has significantly contributed to promoting Vietnam's exports to partner markets. Specifically, in the two years of implementation of this Agreement, many export products of Vietnam have recorded impressive growth to the EU market (such as iron and steel increased by 739%; Cameras, camcorders and components increased by 739%; 260%; Machinery and equipment increased by 82.3%...). Some new products also had high growth to the EU market during this period such as rice, bamboo and rattan products, sedge mats (increased by over 50%); Ceramic and porcelain products (increased by over 25%); Group of Vegetables, Electrical wires and cables (increased by more than 15%)...

In fact, the results of the Enterprise Survey on EVFTA shared by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang - Director of the Center for WTO and Integration, VCCI show that the percentage of Vietnamese enterprises that have benefited from the EVFTA is very reasonable, nearly 41% said they had enjoyed at least some benefit from the EVFTA. The most common benefits are from preferential tariffs for import and export goods and positive effects in increasing orders, revenue, and profit.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang - Director of the Center for WTO and Integration at the workshop

According to Ms. Trang, this may be the result of an improvement in enterprises' understanding of the EVFTA Agreement, because according to the survey, nearly 94% of enterprises have heard or known to different degrees about this Agreement, the highest among the FTAs being implemented. Specifically, 3 out of 10 businesses know quite well and 01 know very well about EVFTA commitments related to their business activities.

Worth mentioning, 76% of businesses believe that the EVFTA and FTAs will have an impact on business prospects in the next 3 years, and most are optimistic that these will be positive effects. However, enterprises also pointed out the barriers that can make it difficult for them to benefit from EVFTA and FTAs, most notably market fluctuations and uncertainties (47% of enterprises mentioned), limited competitiveness (46%), lack of information on commitments and how to take advantage (40%).

Besides the aforementioned contents, the Review results of VCCI also show that, in the past 2 years, a total of 09 legal documents (VBQPPL) have been amended, supplemented and promulgated in order to implement the provisions of the Law. specific commitments in 06 Chapters and 01 Protocol of the EVFTA Document. Although drafted at a faster pace than usual, the majority of legal documents implementing the EVFTA have been issued late compared to the required milestone of the Agreement on August 1, 2020 (average of commercial legal documents on trade goods issued 66 days late, rules documents issued 632 days late). The slow promulgation has more or less affected the efficiency of enterprises taking advantage of EVFTA commitments in the first stage.

Along with that, the results of the review on compatibility show that most of the provisions in the legal documents implementing the EVFTA are compatible with the commitments of the Agreement that they are "internalized"... However, there are still a few cases where the "internalization" regulation has not fully followed the commitment (for example on intellectual property), adding additional conditions that limit the right to enjoy preferences (for example, the conditions for late submission of proof of origin), or the current legal status has not yet ensured the actual implementation of EVFTA commitments (for example on the freedom of association of workers).

The workshop also received to the opinions and sharing of experts.

The workshop also received Dr. Le Xuan Sang - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of Economics forecasts on the EU economic context and prospects in the coming time, along with recommendations for businesses to take advantage of EVFTA; Dr. Cao Xuan Phong - Head of the International Legal Research Department, Institute of Legal Science shared about the requirements for legal and institutional reform in the context of the implementation of EVFTA and new generation FTAs in the coming time...

Reportedly, the workshop and research report on the two-year implementation of EVFTA from a business perspective is part of VCCI's series of activities to support businesses on EVFTA and other FTAs. In the coming time, VCCI will continue to carry out information activities on the content of commitments and the implementation of Vietnam's FTAs in order to support businesses as well as relevant State agencies in the implementation process of these Agreements.