Even before the application of the free trade agreement concluded in December 2015 between the two partners, trade between Vietnam and the EU was flourishing.
Vietnamese exports to the EU recorded a $19 billion rise (€17 billion) between January and August 2016 or +9.2% compared to the same period in 2015. This brings the country's trade surplus with the EU up to a figure of $15 billion (€13.3 billion) for this period, or an annual increase of +13.25%, according to figures from the Vietnamese Department for Planning and Investment, as reported by the Vietnam News agency on 9 September.
Mobile phones and spare parts continued as Vietnam's main exports to the EU over this period, accounting for a volume of $7 billion (€6.3 billion, +6.23%), ahead of footwear, which accounted for a volume of $2.8 billion (€2.5 billion, +6.5%) and a volume of $2.1 billion (€1.9 billion, +12.8%) in computers and electronic products.
The EU and Vietnam officially concluded the free trade agreement in December 2015 (see EUROPE 11444). This agreement is the first of its kind concluded by the EU with a developing country and covers access to markets in goods and services, public procurement and investment, non-tariff barriers, health and phytosanitary questions, intellectual property, customs cooperation, as well as a chapter on sustainable development.
Hanoi also agreed to include a chapter on investment in the agreement on the basis of the EU's reformed approach on investment protection, and a new more transparent system for settling disputes between investors and states. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)