Vietnam launches free trade agreement portal

Nhat Minh 05:30, 2020/12/24

The portal is a way the Vietnamese government support local enterprises and people in approaching the free trade agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory.

The Vietnam Free Trade Agreement Portal (FTA Portal) was launched at fta.moit.gov.vn, jointly held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the World Bank and relevant agencies on December 23 in Hanoi.

Mr. Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade and delegates see the FTAP at the ceremony. Photo: MoIT

The FTAP will provide a smart online lookup tool to the business community and Vietnamese users, who are interested in the FTA commitments of which Vietnam is a member such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The portal focuses on tax commitments, rules of origin, services and investment, as well as other information such as market situation, import and export regulations, sustainable development, among others.

The lookup tool designed for FTAP allows any individual or business interested in FTA commitments to have online access to the most detailed, clear, and simple guidance, instead of searching by themselves or contacting different agencies to get the information they need.

This will minimize time and costs, supporting businesses to seize the most effective opportunities from the FTAs that Vietnam is participating in. The data and information on the website are bilingual (Vietnamese and English).

After being in place, FTAP will continue to be updated and improved by added features as well as future FTAs that Vietnam is a signatory.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that the launch of the portal is an example for the government’s determination to make the information on the FTAs, especially the new-generation FTAs, accessible to the business community and Vietnamese people.

With the support of the Government of Australia, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the World Bank (WB) have cooperated to start the development of FTAP by February 2019. After nearly two years of implementation, the experts of MoIT and WB finalized the final step to launch FTAP - Vietnam's first FTA Portal - despite various difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The MoIT, the Australian Government and the WB will continue to work together to develop this portal into a place that provides useful and reliable information for businesses and citizens, contributing to improving the effectiveness of Vietnam's FTAs in the coming time.