August 3, 2020
The Free Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam entered into force on August 1, 2020.
The trade agreement will eliminate virtually all tariffs on goods traded between the two sides.
It contains a chapter on Customs and Trade Facilitation, which provides for equivalent disciplines in the field of customs, new commitments to modernisation and simplification of customs procedures and improvements to speed up physical controls of the goods. It also includes customs related provisions in its chapter on Trade in Goods, for instance a commitment to a reciprocal duty relief on repaired goods.
It also strengthens the cooperation between the EU and Vietnam customs authorities to ensure safety and security and to fight fraud.
In addition, the Agreement contains a Protocol providing for flexible and simple Rules of Origin.
Canada already has free trade links with both sides, Vietnam with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the European Union with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).