Brussels, 26/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - European and Vietnamese negotiators finished their 11th round of talks, in Brussels on 19-23 January, on a good note. They announced progress on all outstanding issues and continued efforts to conclude an agreement swiftly.
Last week, the discussions focused on services, investment, public procurement, aspects linked to competition and intellectual property rights, and regulatory issues. Technical work was completed in three areas - provisions for fighting fraud, the chapter on trade appeals, and the chapter on sustainable development.
In a press release, the Commission says that the chapter on sustainable development contains “robust” provisions including: - commitments to the core ILO labour standards and international conventions, and multilateral environmental agreements; - obligations not to derogate from or fail to effectively enforce domestic labour and environmental laws to attract trade and investment, as well as mechanisms for the involvement of civil society, and a dedicated article on climate change; - commitments to the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity (including wildlife), forestry (including combatting illegal logging) and fisheries; - mechanisms for the promotion of corporate social responsibility.
The 12th round of talks will be held in Vietnam but the date is still to be confirmed. Between now and then the parties will step up their contact at the level of negotiators in chief. In autumn 2014, Brussels and Hanoi agreed to finalise an agreement in the course of 2015.
The EU-Vietnam free trade agreement will cover trade in goods and services, investment, public procurement, intellectual property rights (including geographical indications), non-tariff barriers, animal and plant health and hygiene issues, technical barriers trade, customs cooperation and trade facilitation, and a chapter on sustainable development.
In 2013, bilateral trade in goods reached €27.1 billion, including €21.3 billion in exports for Vietnam. The EU exports high technology products (electrical equipment and machines, aeroplanes, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel) to Vietnam. Vietnam mostly exports telephone apparatus, electronic products, shoes, textiles and clothing, coffee, rice, fish products and furniture to the EU. The EU's foreign direct investment in Vietnam reached $656 million in 2013, making it the sixth biggest investor in the country. (EH)