Quang Binh ranked second in the country in terms of FTA propaganda score.

On the afternoon of April 8, at the Government headquarters, the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Government Office to organize the Announcement Ceremony of the Index to assess the implementation results of free trade agreements of localities - FTA Index in 2024.

FTA Index - Vietnam's first index to score the capacity to implement Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in 63 provinces and cities has just been announced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade .

This is not only a measuring tool but also a "mirror" of the level of integration of each locality.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien delivered the opening speech at the announcement ceremony of the FTA Index.

Provincial scoring on FTA communication

In the FTA Index, the "Propaganda and dissemination of information about FTA" index is the first component in the set of criteria, aiming to measure the level of: Organizing FTA communication activities; the level of accessing FTA information locally; the quality of documents, events, communication channels; the effectiveness of accessing information from the business perspective.

According to a survey of more than 3,000 enterprises, up to 59.3% of enterprises said that they mainly accessed FTA information through the Department of Industry and Trade - the focal agency in the locality. In addition, the Department of Information and Communications (23%) and the Department of Planning and Investment (19.5%).

However, it is worth mentioning that more than 40% of businesses still do not regularly access information about FTAs, especially small and medium enterprises.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long delivered a keynote speech at the event.

Regarding the forms that help businesses know about FTA information, the most are newspapers, television (64.5%) and websites (51.1%). Conferences, seminars (44%) and training (31.5%) are also considered effective information communication channels.

Meanwhile, printed publications only account for a low proportion (7.2%), showing that the trend of digital information is becoming more and more popular in accessing FTA information.

Direct forms such as seminars and training courses account for a modest proportion (44% and 31.5% respectively). Notably, only 17.2% of enterprises regularly access electronic information portals about FTAs; while 22.1% are completely unaware of the existence of these channels.

Regarding the quality of information provided by management agencies, it is positively evaluated. Accordingly, the rate of enterprises evaluating the quality of information provided according to the "partially satisfying" criteria of the Central agency is 90.7% and that of local state management agencies is 91.3%.

However, in the criterion of "fully meeting business needs", this rate is only modest at 14.2% and 15.8% respectively.

26.2% of enterprises responded that they regularly receive import-export forecast and orientation information provided by local state management agencies and 41.2% of enterprises said they occasionally receive information. Meanwhile, the rate of very frequent information receipt accounts for a modest proportion of 4.3%.

Many delegates attended the announcement ceremony of the FTA Index.

Regarding the level of participation in events related to FTAs ​​by enterprises, the survey results show that 12.4% of enterprises responded "very often" and "regularly" participate.

Regarding information dissemination events organized by management agencies, 35.3% of enterprises responded "sometimes participate", 16.6% of enterprises responded "rarely", and 35.6% of enterprises responded "do not participate in these events".

Enterprises with foreign direct investment (FDI) and state-owned enterprises tend to participate more than non-state enterprises.

Regarding the quality of popular propaganda events, businesses gave quite positive evaluations. Regarding the aspects of topics, speakers, content and documents, the evaluation rates at good and very good levels were 66%, 74%, 61%, 71% respectively.

Regarding the staff in charge of researching and learning about FTAs ​​of enterprises, only 4.5% of enterprises have FTA staff; 41.5% have part-time staff; and 54% have no staff in charge. FDI enterprises are the group with the highest rate of staff in charge (6.3%), in contrast to non-state enterprises with the rate of no staff in charge accounting for 56.7%.

Which provinces and cities do a good job of FTA communication?

According to the ranking, Ninh Binh is the province with the highest FTA propaganda score in the country, reaching 8.30/10 points, excelling in all aspects: event organization, multi-channel communication, and effective information connection with businesses.

Following that are Quang Binh (8.2 points), Thanh Hoa (7.80 points), Ca Mau (7.62 points), Ha Giang (7.47 points) and Quang Ninh (7.43 points), Thai Nguyen (7.36 points), Dien Bien (7.35 points), Long An (7.26 points), Bac Lieu (7.23 points).

These provinces not only regularly organize FTA dissemination events, but also build a multi-channel communication ecosystem: from electronic newsletters, industry documents, seminars to television and digital platforms.

Notably, Thai Nguyen is one of the few provinces that has built a separate FTA data and communication system associated with the local industry and export characteristics.

Ranking of Top 10 provinces with the highest FTA information access index.

On the other hand, the FTA Index also shows that there are about 30 localities with scores below 6. Of which, the 10 localities with the lowest FTA propaganda scores include: Dong Thap (2.75 points), Quang Tri (4.37 points), Ha Tinh (4.83 points), Ha Nam (4.93 points), Kon Tum (5.01 points), Yen Bai (5.02 points), Bac Ninh (5.10 points), Ninh Thuan (5.10 points), Gia Lai (5.16 points), Da Nang (5.18 points).

These provinces have almost no specialized FTA focal point at the Department of Industry and Trade, do not update market information periodically, have not built an FTA section on the electronic information portal, and only organize seminars or FTA programs sporadically, not linked to business needs.

Ranking of Top 10 provinces with the lowest FTA Information Access component index.

Provinces outside the Top 10 with scores of 6 or higher are Khanh Hoa, Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, Hai Phong, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Tre, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Kien Giang, Phu Yen, Dong Nai, Binh Dinh, Lam Dong, Quang Nam, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Can Tho and An Giang.

The FTA Index 2024 was developed under the direction of the Prime Minister and is the result of close and effective coordination efforts between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and ministries, branches, localities, industry associations and enterprises with the aim of further improving the effectiveness of implementing Vietnam's FTAs, contributing to the successful implementation of the economic growth, investment and trade goals of the Party and Government of Vietnam.

In Decision 661/QD/BCT, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien assigned the Industry and Trade Newspaper to coordinate with the Multilateral Trade Policy Department to organize the Announcement Ceremony of the Index to assess the implementation results of FTAs ​​of localities in 2024.

According to Industry and Trade Newspaper

Source: https://baoquangbinh.vn/kinh-te/202504/quang-binh-xep-thu-hai-ca-nuoc-ve-diem-so-tuyen-truyen-fta-2225490/