Vietnam, UK issue joint statement concluding free trade negotiations

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss signed the agreed minutes on the conclusion of negotiations over the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

The Vietnamese official said that in order to ensure there would be no interruption to bilateral trade, the two sides began negotiations in August 2018. Based on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), negotiations went through six official and five technical sessions between 2018 and 2020.

Vietnam and the UK will work together on the official signing of the trade deal, bringing it into effect at the beginning of 2021 to serve the mutual interests of their businesses and peoples, Anh said. 

He expressed his confidence that the UKVFTA will drive bilateral trade and investment and become a means for the two economies to overcome the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and propel robust trade ties.

For her part, Truss said the conclusion of negotiations is an important factor in ensuring the continuity of the dynamic and growing commercial relationship between the two countries.

She noted that the agreement also marks an important step forward in the context of the UK officially applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in early 2021.

Six joint statements between the two sides were approved at the signing ceremony.

The FTA will maintain the benefits for Vietnam-UK commercial ties in the EVFTA. At the end of the tariff elimination roadmap, 99% of tariffs on goods traded between Vietnam and the UK will be cut. This means that Vietnam will save about 114 million pounds on exports to the UK, while the figure for the UK will be 36 million pounds. Trade of goods like garments and textiles, leather and footwear, and seafood will see no interruption, with commercial services like those in finance and e-commerce growing further.