FTA to facilitate ASEAN – Hong Kong goods flow

The Vietnamese Government has issued a decree on Vietnam’s special preferential import tariffs for the implementation of the ASEAN-Hong Kong (China) Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA) in the 2019-2020.
FTA to facilitate ASEAN – Hong Kong goods flow ảnh 1(Illustrative photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Government has issued a decree on Vietnam’s specialpreferential import tariffs forthe implementation of the ASEAN-Hong Kong (China) Free Trade Agreement (AHKFTA)in the 2019-2020.

Under the agreement, imports subject to the AHKFTA’s tax rate must satisfy conditionsspecified in the special preferential import tariff list attached to the decree,or come from the agreement signatories.

In addition, goods must be shipped directly from exporting countries inaccordance with the AHKFTA and the regulations of the Ministry of Industry andTrade (MoIT), and  meet the rules oforigin and have certificates of origin (C/O) of the AHK form in accordance withthe provisions of the agreement and the MoIT.

Issued together with the decree is the impact assessment report of the decreeto fulfill Vietnam's commitments to implementing the agreement.

The AHKFTA is hoped to contribute to reducing barriers, promoting tradeand investment, thus helping the majority of ASEAN countries (except Laos)increase their GDP.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign InvestmentAgency, Hong Kong took the lead among the countries and territories investingin Vietnam in the first seven months of 2019 with 5.44 billion USD.

The AHKFTA was officially negotiated in 2014 and will take into effect fromFebruary 20 this year.

The agreement looks to offer more legal certainty and easiermarket access for goods flow between ASEAN and Hong Kong. Under the trade deal,Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand agreed to cut customs duties of85 percent of goods listed in their tariff schedules within 10 years.

The ASEAN groups 10 states, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam./.
VNA

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