Seafood exports benefit most from Việt Nam-EAEU FTA

HÀ NỘI — Nearly 90 per cent of tariffs have been eliminated or reduced, with 59 per cent abolished after the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Việt Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) took effect in October 2016.

This is an advantage for Việt Nam when exporting goods to EAEU countries, compared with other countries throughout the world.

The aquatic sector will see the most benefits from the agreement, since the EAEU will reduce its import tax from 10 per cent to zero for aquatic products from Việt Nam, including processed foods.

Some of the processed and canned products, such as tuna and shrimp, will enjoy preferential taxes, but they are groups in which Việt Nam lacks materials. Another 5 per cent of taxes will be applied to other seafood products that are not important exports from Việt Nam.

Agro-forestry products will receive the least benefit. For rice, the EAEU has a set an initial quota of importing 10,000 tonnes of rice per year from Việt Nam with zero taxes. The above-quota amount will be levied as the most-favoured nations (MFN) tax. In addition, Việt Nam’s annual rice export volume is dependent on demands from EAEU countries.

The agreement will not reduce taxes for green tea packages weighing under 3 kg. Zero taxes are applied only for raw Vietnamese coffees and peppers, while there will be no tax exemption or reduction for processed products. — VNS