"The signing of FTAs would bring in numerous benefits for the economy, particularly in exports with preferential tariffs and in foreign investment but at the same time narrow down the space for policies supporting domestic businesses, said Director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's WTO Centre Nguyen Thi Thu Trang". — VNA/VNS Photo Lam Khanh

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Experts and businesses called for measures and policies to help local businesses deal with challenges faced by free trade agreements (FTAs) at a workshop held on May 28.

Under the theme "Policy Space to support businesses – What remains after FTAs?", the workshop aimed at discussing threats to Viet Nam's future "policy space" as posed by the conditions of many current and up-coming FTAs and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) and measures to deal with them.

The signing of FTAs would bring in numerous benefits for the economy, particularly in exports with preferential tariffs and in foreign investment but at the same time narrow down the space for policies supporting domestic businesses, said Director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry's WTO Centre Nguyen Thi Thu Trang.

The more trade was liberalised, the fewer supporting policies there would be for businesses, which would gradually even be abolished, she said. However, supporting policies for businesses would only be limited to certain fields and in fact all countries had their own policies to support their businesses after FTAs.

The space for supporting policies would be limited after FTAs, which required more effective measures and policies to help businesses tackle challenges faced by FTAs, Trang said.

Nguyen Anh Duong, an expert from the Central Institute for Economic Management, agreed that Viet Nam had actively participated in FTAs and BITs, which meant that local businesses would face fiercer competition and space for the application of traditional policies to protect local industries was limited.

He suggested that it was essential to provide local businesses with basic information relating to FTAs and BITs, such as the negotiation process, orientation, priorities and assessment of both advantages and disadvantages.

It was also necessary to increase the preparedness and participation of businesses on the consultancy process, improve the business environment and increase the competitive capacity for businesses, focussing on product quality, he said.

Designing appropriate FTAs and ensuring the harmonisation between FTAs and between FTAs and development demand of local industries were also important, he said.

Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers Nguyen Hoai Nam said current policies supporting businesses in the fields of seafood processing and exports needed to be more effective when Viet Nam integrated deeper into the global economy.

He recommended having measures to increase the competitive capacity of local businesses and adjust current regulations to make it more suitable after FTAs.

Trang from VCCI said that policies relating to tariffs were limited but there was still room for policies relating to technical barriers in trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures or trade protective tools such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures.

Viet Nam had signed 9 FTAs so far, which already took effect, and is currently negotiating to sign five other FTAs. — VNS