The Ministry of Finance on Monday issued a list of preferential tariffs for goods from the Republic of Korea (RoK), following the Viet Nam – RoK Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA). The circular lists 9,502 tariff lines in the VKFTA between 2015 and 2018.
To be eligible for the preferential import tax, the goods must meet four basic conditions: being included in the VKFTA duty structure, being imported from the RoK, being directly transported from the RoK to Viet Nam under the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT); and meeting the VKFTA regulations on origin of goods, in addition to having certificates of origin according to regulations by the MoIT.
Goods produced in the Kaesong Industrial Zone in the People's Democratic Republic of Korea then imported into the RoK to be exported to Viet Nam will also enjoy preferential duty if they are among those marked as GIC in the VKFTA duty structure. They should be directly imported from the RoK into Viet Nam according to regulations of the MoIT, meet regulations on the origin of special goods as stipulated in the VKFTA, and have C/O KV issued by the RoK Customs Agency containing the words "Article 3.5" in box No 8. The preferential tariffs was applied from December 20, the day on which the VKFTA became effective.
Under the VKFTA, Viet Nam commits to eliminate 8521 tariff lines, 201 more than the commitments under the ASEAN-RoK FTA.
Meanwhile, the RoK is to remove and allocate quotas for 11,679 tariff lines, including Viet Nam's key exports like shrimps, crabs, frozen and canned fish; and agro-products, in addition to fresh flowers. They also include several so-called sensitive products such as garlic, ginger, honey, and sweet potato, in addition to red bean.
According to the Ministry of Finance, fulfilling tariff-reducing commitments will help Vietnamese and RoK foreign-direct-investment enterprises to import materials with lower cost that would boost exports of main commodities and competitiveness.