Recommendations for EU-Vietnam FTA, IPA adopted

Economy

Recommendations for EU-Vietnam FTA, IPA adopted

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

The European Parliament (EP)’s Committee on International Trade (INTA) adopted recommendations for the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) in Brussels on January 21.

Once the EVFTA comes into effect, the EU will eliminate import tariffs for nearly 86 percent of the tariff lines and over 99 percent of tariff lines will be lifted after seven years.

The recommendations for the EVFTA were approved with 29 votes in favour, six against, and five abstains; and that on the IPA got 26 approval votes out of the 39.

The voting event saw the participation of 40 members of the INTA under the chair of INTA chairman Bernd Lange.

The EVFTA consists of 17 chapters, two protocols and some memoranda of understanding on trade, goods, services, investment, trade remedies, competition, State businesses, government procurement, and intellectual property.

Once the agreement comes into effect, the EU will eliminate import tariffs for nearly 86 percent of the tariff lines and over 99 percent of tariff lines will be lifted after seven years. This is the first FTA that the EU has signed with a developing country.

Meanwhile, the IPA includes modern regulations on investment protection that allow enforcement and implementation through a new system of investment courts as well as ensure the two sides’ governments’ rights to regulate benefits of their citizens.

The plenary session of the EP is expected to vote on the two agreements in mid-February this year.

If ratified by the EP, the EVFTA will come into force a month after the two sides notify each other that the legal process is over. Meanwhile, the IPA will still need approval by the parliaments of each EU member state, which could take several years.

(Source: VNA)

EU-Vietnam FTA

Other news

Yen Bai Welcomes Over 9 Million Tourists During the 2021–2025 Period

Yen Bai Leverages the Cultural Heritage of Ethnic Groups to Develop Tourism

Thanks to the development of distinctive and appealing tourism products in its key tourism regions, Yen Bai Province welcomed over 9 million tourist arrivals during the 2021–2025 period, including nearly 800,000 international visitors. Tourism revenue reached VND 7,189 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 32.7%.

Yen Bai Recruits and Trains 81,504 People in Vocational Education

Yen Bai Organizes Career Counseling – Enrollment – Employment Fair for Students at Educational Institutions across the Province.

Since 2021, Yen Bai Province has recruited and provided vocational training for 81,504 people. Of these: 6,359 people (7.8%) received college-level training, 12,710 people (15.6%) received intermediate-level training, and 62,435 people (76.6%) received elementary-level training or training under three months. Each year, the province has supported vocational training for 4,000 to 5,000 rural laborers.

Yen Bai Has 222 Crop Seed Trading Establishments

Trial of New, High-Quality Rice Varieties in the Upland District of Tram Tau During the 2025 Spring Crop

Since the beginning of the year, the management of crop seed, fertilizer, and pesticide trading activities in Yen Bai Province has been effectively implemented.

Yen Bai: Over 6,720 household businesses pay taxes via eTax mobile application

A tax officer in Yen Bai provides guidance to household businesses on using the eTax Mobile application.

To facilitate taxpayers in fulfilling their tax obligations promptly and in accordance with current tax regulations, while simultaneously strengthening tax administration and preventing revenue loss to the state budget, the tax sector of Yen Bai Province has actively guided household businesses to pay taxes through the eTax Mobile application.

Economy