The information was released by Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev after the Russian and ASEAN economic and trade ministers met in Laos’ capital city of Vientiane. The announcement to establish an FTA between ASEAN and the EAEU was made at the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Sochi in May 2016, but the ministers of participating countries have just agreed to start the work.
The minister stressed that agreements reached at Sochi will play a key role to develop the FTA, adding that an EAEU-ASEAN study group will be formed under the guidance of “leading leaders” to ensure an effective outcome. Currently, all involved countries are interested in the project, however some ASEAN countries need more information about the EAEU cooperation mechanism, he added.
Vietnam is the first country in ASEAN to sign a free trade agreement with the EAEU, which comprises Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan.
Economic experts have suggested Vietnam thoroughly assess the impacts that the Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) free trade agreement (FTA) may exert on specific sectors and markets, in a bid to fully enjoy the benefits brought about by the pact.
The agreement spans a range of fields, from trade to sustainable development and intellectual property, that aims to introduce EAEU member markets and the export opportunities afforded by the deal.
If the pact comes into force this year as scheduled, it will allow Vietnam to access the big Eurasian market soon, he said, adding that Vietnamese goods like garments-textiles, farm produce, leather and footwear will enjoy substantial benefits thanks to tariff preferences.
However, local businesses should mull the agreement’s contents relating to their products and rules of origin. It is proposed that enterprises set up their own warehouses in order to cut transportation costs, explaining that geographical distance remains a challenge hindering efforts to penetrate these markets.
Apart from observing strict regulations prescribed in the agreement, Vietnamese businesses should map out plans to compete with their rivals in the foreign countries fairly, with special attention paid to product price and quality, the workshop heard.
In 2018, 144 more tariff lines will be eliminated, raising the number of zero-tax lines to 5,103, or 54 percent of the total. The EAEU, which comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, signed the FTA with Vietnam in May 2015. The pact is expected to increase trade revenue between Vietnam and the EAEU to 10 billion USD in 2020 from the current yearly average of 4 billion USD.
