How does Vietnam benefit?

The UK is a very important partner, so its joining the CPTPP will create more export markets for Vietnam.

The UK has committed to a higher level of market access for Vietnam than other countries in the CPTPP. (Source: Aseanbriefing)

On June 25, at the 7th session, the 15th National Assembly voted to pass the Resolution approving the document of accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). With 459/460 delegates in favor, the National Assembly unanimously passed the Resolution.

New impetus for socio-economic development

According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, the import-export turnover of Vietnam and the UK in the first 5 months of 2024 grew strongly along with the general growth of the market. The total turnover in the first 5 months reached nearly 3.3 billion USD, an increase of 23.2%.

Of which, Vietnam's exports reached nearly 3 billion USD, up 26.6%. Imports reached 301.2 million USD, down slightly by 2.2%. Trade surplus reached 2.7 billion USD. Exports to the UK slowed down in recent months (April, May) compared to the first months of the year (March, April).

Thus, the UK is currently Vietnam's third largest export market in Europe, after the Netherlands (5-month exports reached nearly 5 billion USD) and Germany (5-month exports reached 3.2 billion USD).

After the UK joins, CPTPP members will contribute 15% of global GDP, equivalent to £12,000 billion. It can be seen that this event brings benefits not only from an economic and trade perspective, but also from a political and strategic perspective.

Besides, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien informed that along with joining CPTPP, the UK has officially recognized Vietnam as a market economy.

"This will facilitate Vietnam in trade defense investigations, especially anti-dumping investigations. At the same time, Vietnam's export goods will not be discriminated against and will be subject to more reasonable anti-dumping tax rates than at present," Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized.

During the negotiation process, the UK made a higher commitment to open its market to Vietnam than other countries in the CPTPP - higher than the commitment of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) - in a number of important contents with Vietnam.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade commented: "This creates new momentum for socio-economic development, enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises."

Specifically, the UK committed to eliminating 94.4% of tariff lines for Vietnam as soon as the CPTPP comes into effect (other member countries are 93.9%). Many of our strong products such as rice, seafood, cassava starch... all enjoy better commitments than the UKVFTA.

For example, in the case of rice, within the framework of CPTPP, the UK committed to giving Vietnam a tariff quota that gradually increased from 3,300 tons/year in the first year to 17,500 tons/year from the 8th year (ie 2030) onwards (with a tariff rate of 0%), nearly double the amount of rice quota that the UK committed to in general for other member countries.

Or for tuna, this country also committed to completely eliminating import quotas and taxes as soon as the Agreement comes into effect or after 7 years with a few tax lines (a big improvement compared to the tariff quota of only over 1,500 tons/year in the previous bilateral FTA).

When the UK joins the CPTPP, many of our key products such as rice, seafood, cassava starch, etc. will enjoy better commitments than under the UKVFTA. (Source: Cases).

Create new markets for Vietnam

Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that the UK is a very important partner for Vietnam, so the UK's accession to the CPTPP will create new markets for Vietnam.

In addition, during the negotiation process with Vietnam, an agreement was reached with the UK that the UK will open more market access for Vietnam in addition to existing bilateral FTAs, especially the seafood industry will have great advantages when the commitment officially comes into effect.

Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh said: “This is a bright spot of the CPTPP agreement, along with many large economies also interested in and wanting to join this agreement. This shows the increasingly strong role of the CPTPP agreement and that certainly creates new motivations for businesses and investors to pay more attention to CPTPP members, especially Vietnam."

Many Vietnamese businesses also expect the UK's participation in the CPTPP to promote and expand export markets.

Mr. Pham Cong Thao, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNSteel), said that the UK's participation in the CPTPP agreement opens up many opportunities for the steel industry to boost exports. The UK was also a member of the European Union (EU) and its product standards are similar to those of the EU.

He affirmed: “In 2023, Vietnam's steel exports to the EU market will account for about 23% of total exports and represent a very large market share. Therefore, when the UK joins the CPTPP agreement, steel enterprises will continue to have more partners to promote exports."

The CPTPP Agreement was signed in 2018 and took effect in Vietnam in early 2019. The Agreement includes 11 member countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, New Zealand, Peru and Vietnam.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/anh-gia-nhap-cptpp-viet-nam-huong-loi-the-nao-276550.html