TPP AGREEMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON VIETNAM

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will give Vietnam numerous opportunities to establish and expand its export markets, experts say.

In particular, Vietnam will increase its key exports such as garments, seafood, footwear and wood products to the US, while attracting more investment from the world’s largest economy. The country can also take full advantage of opportunities created from the restructuring of regional economies and the trend of closer cooperation, experts said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on January 30.

However, the agreement will put more pressure on Vietnam to open its markets, as well as on the competitive capacity of domestic businesses. Along with revising the legal system and developing human resources, the government needs to pay attention to a number of sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and service industries which have yet to meet development requirements, they suggested.

Le Thanh An, US Consul General in HCM City, said that trade liberalization has a broad impact on people’s lives, pointing to the fact that farm products are exported to many countries; products manufactured at industrial and export processing zones are consumed in various markets overseas; and foreign investors bring state-of-the-art technology into Vietnam.

Undoubtedly, trade liberalization helps promote cooperation and bring practical benefits to many countries, he said. He argued that once the TPP agreement is signed this year, it will assist signatory parties with tariffs, increase competitive capacity internationally and attract new investment.

The US is committed to strengthening the exchange of information with Vietnam to speed up TPP negotiations, the diplomat assured. Vietnam has joined TPP negotiations since November 2010. Fifteen rounds of negotiations have been conducted to date, and the agreement is expected to be signed in 2013.

Source: vov