The Department of Trade Defence under the Ministry of Industry and Trade will begin releasing Viet Nam’s export data to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) on a monthly basis to help local businesses avoid Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs.

Viet Nam and the EAEU signed a free trade agreement on May 29, 2015, which came into force on October 5, 2016.

Under the deal, the EAEU – consisting of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan – committed to eliminating tariffs for up to 9,774 tax lines (90 per cent) for products imported from Viet Nam.

Viet Nam’s footwear, textiles and garments, and interior design products are eligible for zero import duty. However, if the volume of these products exceeds a trigger level established in the agreement, the EAEU will adjust the zero import duty to MFN tariffs for six to nine months, depending on the volume.

As of June 2018, the MFN tariffs had been imposed on Vietnamese underwear and children’s wear products.

According to the department, there are no products at risk of tax in 2019. However, domestic firms should act accordingly to avoid the imposition.

Viet Nam’s customs statistics show trade between the two sides hit US$3.9 billion in 2017, up 31 per cent year-on-year. Last year, Viet Nam also recorded a trade surplus of nearly $1 billion with the bloc. In the first four months of 2018, bilateral trade was at $1.53 billion, an annual increase of 35 per cent.

Key Vietnamese exports to the EAEU were phones and components, computers and electronic devices, apparel, footwear, fruit and vegetables, coffee, cashew nuts and seafood.

Viet Nam mainly imported petrol, oil, steel, fertilisers and machinery from the EAEU. Commodities from each side supplement each other, limiting disadvantages often seen with other FTAs. — VNS