The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade co-hosted a conference in Hanoi on May 22, focusing on basic commitments of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and recommendations for businesses.

 

Participants held that the CPTPP’s strict regulations will be requirements but also create an opportunity for Vietnam to speed up its reform, improve institutions, and fully implement its commitments to the pact.

 

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said the CPTPP will give a boost to international trade and investment as well as intra-bloc trade activities.

 

He said it is the highest-standard agreement that Vietnam has joined to date, which will be enforced in the near future.

 

The point is what Vietnamese firms should do to prepare themselves to capitalise on its benefits and reduce related risks, the official noted.

 

Luong Hoang Thai, Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department, said the CPTPP will drive the Government’s reform progress and build the image of Vietnam as a supporter of free trade in line with international law.

 

The agreement will also help Vietnam open its market, increase investment, boost international cooperation, create jobs, and ease poverty, Thai added.

 

VCCI Chairman Vu Tien Loc recommended Vietnamese firms update information about the regulations on product origins and standards and customers’ demand in CPTPP member markets, as well as the agreement’s impacts on different types of commodities.

 

Loc said he believes the deal will offer opportunities for Vietnam to attract investment, promote international cooperation, boost exports, and complete its institutions.

 

After the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the predecessor of the CPTPP, in 2017, the remaining 11 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, agreed to maintain the deal and rename it CPTPP.

 

The CPTPP, which was signed in Chile on March 8, is set to take effect in early 2019 after it is ratified by at least six member countries. Its member economies make up about 13 percent of the global GDP.-VNA