Wooden furniture from Bình Dương is a popular item in the UK market. — VNS Photo Văn Châu

Thanks to taking advantage of free trade agreements such as the EVFTA and UKVFTA, Bình Dương Province's total export turnover in the first 10 months reached US$28.5 billion, up 13.25 per cent over the same period last year, and import turnover also increased to $20.3 billion, up 12.6 per cent.

Bình Dương has a trade surplus with many markets that have signed and implemented free trade agreements with Việt Nam, such as the UK and the EU.

Products manufactured in the industrial capital of the province are continuing to expand to major markets, especially the US, which accounts for more than one-third of the locality’s total export turnover, reaching about $10 billion.

According to a report of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the province's index of industrial production (IIP) in October increased by 13.63 per cent over the same period last year. The cumulative increase in the first 10 months of the year was 6.49 per cent, a positive sign for the province's production.

However, while foreign-invested enterprises have taken advantage of opportunities from free trade agreements, domestic enterprises still have many bottlenecks that need to be resolved.

According to a recent assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) on the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Việt Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the UK-VN Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), although activities to support local enterprises to improve their capacity are regularly implemented, most of these activities are mainly carried out within the framework of the general development policy of localities, not specifically for the implementation of a certain FTA.

This leads to support activities being spread out, and not focused on the fields or industries that are strong in each locality.

Agreeing with the MIT, the business community in the province said that the programmes connecting banks and businesses to take advantage of export opportunities from FTAs ​​have not yet maximised their effectiveness.

Trade promotion activities, information updates as well as trade connections in markets participating in EVFTA, CPTPP and UKVFTA, although promoted, have not yet removed bottlenecks to meet business requirements.

Trương Thị Thuý Liên, deputy president of the Bình Dương Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, said that small and medium enterprises faced many challenges when meeting the requirements of the international market.

The State currently had many support policies, but when implementing them in practice, they were not effective for many reasons. For example, to access a 2 per cent interest rate support package, the procedures were too complicated.

According to experts, the UK market has many opportunities for the province's exports such as wooden furniture and electronic components. Under the UKVFTA, the tariffs would be lifted for wooden products in five years, offering a competitive advantage for Việt Nam.

Furthermore, the UK market is quite large (about 68 million people), and the diverse needs of the Asian community of more than 5.5 million people are also favourable to Bình Dương's goods, including wooden furniture.

Bình Dương also implements many training and technical support programmes for businesses in order to promote product quality and ensure compliance with UK market standards.

Workers at Panasonic Life Solutions Vietnam Co Ltd in Tân Uyên Town in Bình Dương. The province is committed to working directly with associations and export enterprises to resolve difficulties. — VNA/VNS Photo Vũ Sinh

These programmes focus on improving workers' skills, improving production processes and enhancing product quality, better meeting the strict requirements of UK and European markets.

The province also encourages businesses to apply green technology and invest in environmentally friendly products to meet the increasing demand of the international market for sustainable products.

In addition, to help businesses reduce difficulties, Bình Dương also strengthens the connection between businesses and British business associations and federations.

Regular meetings and dialogues are held to listen to opinions, remove obstacles and help businesses overcome challenges in the context of increasingly fierce competition.

The People’s Committee of Bình Dương, in collaboration with the British Consulate General in HCM City, organised a conference on green energy on April 9, aiming to optimise the use of renewable energy and facilitate knowledge exchange between the locality and experts on sustainable energy development. On this occasion, the Eastern International University, Becamex IDC, the UK’s Q-Energy and the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam, announced a cooperation project on energy solutions. VNA/VNS Photo

Bình Dương is one of the industrial centres of the country. The province has 28 industrial parks in operation, leasing 7,000 hectares of land, with an occupancy rate of over 93 per cent.

The province also has 10 industrial clusters and thousands of factories located among residential areas. The factories have created over 1.2 million jobs.

The province is continuing to open more industrial parks to attract foreign investment.

The Prime Minister has approved the planning of the province from now to 2030 with a vision to 2050.

Bình Dương continues to consider industry as the main growth driver, focusing on modernising existing industries. It will gradually increase the localisation rate in supporting industries and develop high-tech industries, participating in the global value chain.

The province also advocates modernising and optimising trade efficiency for existing industries, as well as improving production efficiency through industrial modernisation and solutions to optimise trade efficiency.  VNS