Vietnam-EU trade surges 46.5% after five years of EVFTA
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has sustained Vietnam’s trade momentum.
THE HANOI TIMES — Trade between Vietnam and the European Union surged 46.5% to US$64.6 billion in 2024, five years after the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect, according to Vietnam Customs.
Exports to the EU surged by 56.4% to hit $48.7 billion, while imports grew by 13% to $15.9 billion. With Germany alone, two-way trade climbed 17%: Vietnamese exports rose 20%, while imports increased by 13%.
Organic rice from the Dong Phu Agricultural Cooperative in Chuong My Commune, Hanoi, meets EU export standards. Photo: Anh Ngoc/The Hanoi Times
Five years after the EVFTA came into effect in August 2020, Dang Thi Thanh Phuong, the Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Germany, said that Vietnam and the EU have maintained steady growth in economic cooperation.
The Vietnam News Agency quoted Phuong as saying that this was a transformative step in Vietnam’s integration into the global economy.
She attributed much of this growth to the immediate elimination of 85.6% of EU import tariffs, which cover over 70% of the value of Vietnamese exports to this market.
By 2027, 99.2% of tariff lines will be phased out, giving Vietnamese goods almost unfettered access to one of the world's largest markets.
Phuong noted that Vietnamese enterprises need to act fast to upgrade production, embrace sustainability, upskill the workforce, and increase the production of locally made items.
