Illustrative photo (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The garment-textile sector will gainsignificant benefits but, at the same time, face several challenges broughtabout by the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) once it takes effect,experts said at an online conference on August 2.
Luong Hoang Thai, Director of the Ministry of Industry andTrade (MoIT)’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department, highlighted the potentialadvantage.
He said that all tariff imposed on garment-textile productswill gradually go down to zero percent, with 77 percent of the goods seeingtheir tariff immediately eliminated right after the pact comes into force.
The EU is the top apparel importer in the world and thesecond biggest import market of Vietnam’s garment-textile products, he added.
Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) Integration Centre at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (VCCI), said the sector’s shipments to EU reeled in 5.6 billion USD inrevenue.
She said the figure was high but accounted for only 2.02 percentof the bloc’s total value of garment and textile imports, adding that thismeans room for growth remains extensive.
Chairman of the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association (VITAS)Vu Duc Giang pointed to a shortage of supplies, as the sector needs to meet theagreement’s requirements for product origin.
He also spoke about difficulties facing firms that want toinvest in fabric dying but are being rejected by localities over environmentalconcerns.
Giang told local authorities not to worry and explained thatforeign partners have strict requirements for environmental protection andwastewater treatment technologies in the world have reached an advanced level.
He asked the MoIT to announce at an early date a list oftariff lines applied for different types of garment-textile products.
The VITAS will organise workshops to update relevantinformation for businesses in the sector.-VNA
VNA
