ZCZC
BCN-22
EU-TRADE-VIETNAM
EU to sign trade deal with Vietnam
BRUSSELS, June 26, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The European Union will sign a deal to
remove virtually all customs duties on trade with Vietnam on Sunday, the EU
Commission announced.
The accord was negotiated back in December 2015, but EU member states only
gave their approval on Wednesday at a ministerial meeting.
EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom will travel to Hanoi at the
weekend to sign the deal and the EU parliament is expected to ratify it later
this year.
“I am very pleased to see that Member States have given a green light to
our trade and investment agreements with Vietnam,” Malmstrom said.
“Beyond the clear economic benefits, this deal also aims to strengthen
respect for human rights as well as protecting the environment and workers’
rights.”
Vietnam hailed the agreement as “important” and “comprehensive”.
“Investors from the EU will now have the opportunity to take advantage of
a rising economy like Vietnam,” Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh
told reporters in Hanoi on Tuesday.
EU-Vietnam trade represents 50 billion euros ($57 billion) in goods and
four billion inn services, and Europe is keen to secure access to 95 million
consumers.
But Brussels has expressed concern in the past about the former French
colony’s human rights record.
BSS/AFP/HR/1118