The WTO’s director general said Vietnam’s participation in several free trade agreements in the coming time would help boost the country’s development, adding 5-10% marginal preference for small and medium enterprises. However, the country’s SME sector still faces many challenges due to its small scale and lack of capital.
"At the seminar, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh also pointed out that Vietnamese firms needed to improve other standards besides price competitiveness in order to participate in global supply chains" - Roberto Azevedo, Director General, WTO.
"It’s not only about price competitiveness; it involves quality standards, delivery time, environmentally-friendly production and copyrights requirements as well. I hope we can look at our weaknesses and improve management capacity among our businesses so that we can become part of regional and global supply chains." - Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.
The WTO is currently pushing for negotiations on outstanding issues related to the Doha negotiation round concerning e-commerce, small and medium enterprises and investment facilitation. Therefore, Vietnam could take this opportunity to discuss these issues with the WTO to better benefit from international economic integration.
