(vasep.com.vn) With this Agreement, agricultural and seafood products in Vietnam will enjoy considerable tax reduction.
Along the progress of signing EU-FTA, FTA between Vietnam and 4 countries of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, named as EFTA is in the final negotiation rounds. Mr. Tran Trung Truc, Ministry of Industry and Trade, EFTA chief negotiator, claimed that the 10th negotiation round, the last session of 2014 was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 4th to 7th November 2014.
After four days of negotiations, comprehensive round of free trade negotiations witnessed the working on all areas foreseen to be covered by a future free trade agreement. These included trade in goods and services, sustainable development, co-operation, government procurement, rules of origin. It was agreed to convene for the next round of negotiations in Vietnam in January 2015.
Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein are demanding markets for agricultural and fisheries products from Vietnam with relatively tariff and inspection rules (SPS). Once EFTA is signed, many tariffs on agricultural and fisheries products from Vietnam will be removed. Vietnamese companies will then focus on improving the quality and safety of goods only .
According to the WTO Center under Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), as European Economic Area (EEA) was formed, SPS provisions for EFTA are similar to those of EU. Therefore, goods that acquire standards of the EU are eligible to be exported in both EU and EFTA. It is obvious that the EFTA can only be useful if Vietnamese companies take more efforts to raise the quality to meet standards of these markets.