Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and the Prime Ministers of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan officially sign the FTA between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Unio. -- File Photo

HCM CITY (Biz Hub) — Experts discussed domestic businesses' preparations for the free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) during a workshop held on Thursday in HCM City.

At the event, co-organised by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, the Centre of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the HCM City Enterprises Association, participants highlighted the huge potential domestic businesses would have entering the new market, which has 175 million people and a GDP of nearly US$2.5 trillion.

Nguyen Khanh Ngoc of the Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasised the need for accuracy in the certificates of origin for Vietnamese products, saying that businesses would benefit less from the FTA if errors were made on this front.

Domestic firms should work to better understand the FTA in order to overcome difficulties, raise product competitiveness and improve product quality to meet the strict requirements of these markets, she said.

Participants pointed to the impact of the FTA on a number of domestic sectors, saying that FTA commitments will include cutting 82 per cent of taxes on the garment-textile sector and 72 per cent on the rubber sector.

The EAEU also stipulated in the agreement that it wanted direct trade with Viet Nam, which means commodities must be sent directly from Viet Nam to the importing countries. Extra transit stops are only allowed if completely necessary.

The FTA was signed on May 29 after more than two years of negotiations, opening up a new chapter in the partnership between Viet Nam and the union.

The agreement is expected to be effective from early next year, after all signatories complete the necessary domestic procedures. — VNS