Vietnamese leather and footwear exporters must comply with the European Union (EU)-Vietnam free trade agreement’s (EV-FTA) rules of origin and be prepared to deal with EU barriers and anti-dumping measures when it takes effect in 2019, exporters were told at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.
The meeting, organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-Mutrap), was held to help exporters take advantage of the EV-FTA.
Once the agreement goes into effect, the EU will eliminate import duties on 85.6 per cent of its tariffs lines on Vietnamese products. After seven years, 99 per cent of EU tariffs will be removed for Vietnamese products. Vietnamese textiles, footwear and seafood products (except for canned tuna and fish balls) will incur no import duties within seven years after the agreement takes effect.
The EV-FTA would increase exports because of lower tariffs and contribute to eliminating other trade barriers, Phan Th? Thanh Xuân, vice chairwoman and general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO), said.
However, Vietnamese manufacturers and exporters will confront challenges and will have to improve technologies and manufacturing processes to ensure high quality, according to a Vietnamese news agency report.
Vietnam earned $13.1 billion from leather and footwear exports in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 11.4 per cent over the same period last year.
Last year Vi?t Nam ranked as the third-largest footwear manufacturer in the world, after China and India, says LEFASO.
About 900 European companies have invested in the country, which has the largest European business community in Southeast Asia. (DS)
Source Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India