Vietnam always considers the EU one of its most important partners, with the comprehensive partnership and cooperation, particularly between their parliaments, obtaining many achievements for the sake of their people and for peace, collaboration and development in the two continents and the world.
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| At the event__Photo: VNA |
Chairman of the National Assembly (NA)'s Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha made his statement on March 18 at virtual meeting between the NA and the European Parliament (EP) on the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the second of its kind so far.
The legislator stressed economic cooperation is a highlight in the Vietnam – EU relations, adding that bilateral trade grew quickly after the EVFTA came into force on August 1, 2020 and hit USD 57 billion in 2021.
Regarding the realization of the FTA, Ha said the sides have resolved some differences through the dialogue mechanism and periodic meetings of committees involved. He hoped the work to continue in the time to come.
Vietnam has amended and promulgated a series of new decrees, resolutions and circulars in the fields of tariffs, agriculture, goods origin and trade remedies, among others, he added.
Ha also mentioned obstacles facing Vietnamese enterprises, including COVID-19-induced supply chain disruption and travel restrictions as well as problems in the procedures for issuing certificates of origin.
He suggested the EP and EU offer Vietnam technical and resources assistance to capitalize on the pact and response to its technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary/phyto-sanitary (SPS).
The official proposed the EU soon lift the “yellow card” warning regarding illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing imposed on Vietnam to boost bilateral exports; and launch programs to support capacity building and competitiveness improvement for Vietnamese seafood exporters.
He went on to say that it is also necessary to pilot allowing Vietnamese exporters to self-certify origin as the EVFTA has yet to specify a time to apply this mechanism; and to accelerate the training and development of human resources, especially high-quality ones to solve the labour shortage due to COVID-19.
Ha asked the EP to call on the remaining member countries to complete the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) so that the pact will take effect soon, creating a stronger impetus to promote the comprehensive ties between the sides.
Participating EP parliamentarians lauded progresses made in the EVFTA implementation so far and the sides’ related exchange and dialogue mechanisms.- (VNA/VLLF)
