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HCM CITY (VNS) — The Viet Nam-Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was signed earlier this month, is expected to more than double bilateral trade by 2020, officials said at a seminar held in HCM City yesterday.

Park Sang Hyup, head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in HCM City, said bilateral trade last year rose to more than $30 billion from nearly $500 million in 1992.

Phan Thi Thanh Minh, head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's southern operations department, said under the FTA, Viet Nam would remove import tariffs on more than 90 per cent of Korean products, including garment and textile raw materials, unprocessed plastic, electronic parts, automotive components, household electricity, iron and steel, electric cables and others.

South Korea, meanwhile, will reduce import duties on more than 95 per cent of Vietnamese goods, including key export items like shrimp, fish, crab, tropical fruits, garment and textiles, and wooden products.

South Korea will also open its doors to Vietnamese garlic, ginger, honey and sweet potato. — VNS