Support the business community to effectively utilize Free Trade Agreements

Comrade Ngo Minh Kim, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said: In 2023, the province's export market will face negative impacts from external factors such as: Low domestic and international market demand, so businesses cannot sign new orders, even have signed orders canceled, the competitiveness of domestic and imported goods is high, lack of input materials for production, high inventories causing many businesses to proactively cut production levels.

Faced with such difficulties, the Department of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Import-Export Department, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, the Department of Europe-America Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade) to organize 6 direct and online conferences to disseminate methods of applying rules of origin of goods to enjoy incentives from Free Trade Agreements; improve trade defense capacity; skills to implement exports through cross-border e-commerce platforms; promote investment, export products to the European market... for nearly 800 delegates, who are state management officials and enterprises with import and export activities in the province.

At the same time, it is necessary to provide information on market situations, the application of tax and non-tariff barriers in international trade, helping local businesses look up information on preferential import and export tariffs and proactively respond to trade barriers in export markets.

To help export enterprises overcome difficulties, the Department of Industry and Trade has determined to make good use of multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements. Therefore, as the focal agency for international integration, the Department has effectively carried out information and propaganda work on the viewpoints, guidelines and major policies of the Party and State, focusing on disseminating Vietnam's commitments when participating in free trade agreements (FTAs), especially new-generation FTAs such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Agreement between Vietnam and 28 EU member countries (EVFTA), the Agreement between Vietnam and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UKVFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP)... to state management agencies, the business community, socio-political organizations and people in the province in many forms.

In addition, the Department has improved the information hub on new generation FTAs in particular and FTAs in general, providing information, guidance, clarifying the content of commitments and issues related to the Agreements that Vietnam participates in; providing timely information on trade defense measures of importing countries; updating and notifying changes in import, export and customs clearance policies from major trading partners to import and export enterprises.

On the other hand, the Department of Industry and Trade has proactively coordinated with departments and branches to regularly review current legal documents, issue new documents that are clear, specific, ensuring consistency, transparency, unity, feasibility, and conformity with international commitments and the actual situation to remove difficulties and obstacles, create a favorable legal corridor, promote production development, and ensure security and national defense in the locality.

To facilitate shortening the time for import and export procedures for enterprises in the province, the Import and Export Department has appraised and issued over 6,200 sets of C/O so that the province's export products can enjoy tariff incentives in the spirit of the FTAs that Vietnam has signed.

By taking full advantage of the signed trade agreements, the province's total export turnover in 2023 reached 3,178.2 million USD, an increase of 0.01% over the same period last year. Entering 2024, the export market continued to maintain its growth momentum with the total export turnover in February reaching nearly 271.6 million USD, an increase of 17.7% over the same period; the accumulated value in the first two months of the year reached over 561.8 million USD, an increase of 28.8%. Export items with a fairly high increase compared to the same period include: all kinds of clothing increased by 28.6%; all kinds of footwear increased by 29.5%; electronic components increased by 76.5%; aluminum ingots increased by 2.2 times...

Total import turnover in February reached over 261.6 million USD, up 33.1% over the same period; the accumulated value in the first two months of the year reached over 530.5 million USD, up 14.2%. Focusing on groups of goods such as: electronic components, auto parts, footwear production accessories, garment fabrics, etc. The export markets of enterprises in the province continue to be maintained and expanded, markets that have signed free trade agreements with Vietnam have all recorded strong export growth. The province's export turnover target in 2024 is estimated at 3.25 billion USD, up 2.8% compared to the estimated implementation in 2023.

To achieve this goal, the Department of Industry and Trade continues to organize conferences to disseminate and raise awareness of international economic integration, especially information on markets that have signed FTAs and measures to prevent disputes and fraud in international trade for state management officials and enterprises in the province. Support updating and providing new regulations on imports from FTA participating countries to enterprises, promptly advising the Provincial People's Committee to remove obstacles in mechanisms, policies and procedures related to exports; create conditions for enterprises to effectively take advantage of the tax reduction roadmap of new generation FTAs, promote the export of product groups in which the province has strengths such as garments, handicrafts, leather shoes, processed agricultural products, electronic components, automobile components, etc.

The Industry and Trade sector also continues to organize trade promotion programs and promote export products through direct and online conferences with trade counselors and major partners of the province.

The province has also coordinated with the Department of Trade Promotion to promptly inform about national trade promotion programs, support businesses in the province to participate in trade promotion delegations in key markets such as China, the US, Japan, the EU... At the same time, build and implement projects to support businesses, cooperatives, production and business establishments to apply e-commerce, sell online and promote product brands to improve production and business efficiency, promote exports...

As the standing member of the Provincial Steering Committee for International Integration, the Department of Industry and Trade will effectively perform its role as a focal point for providing information and clarifying commitments from FTAs; coordinate with specialized units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to implement early warning measures in trade defense, information on non-tariff barriers of key markets of the province; support businesses in effective implementation, focusing on disseminating rules of origin and organizing the issuance of preferential C/O for export enterprises in the locality and neighboring provinces.

Nguyen Thom

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