Vietnam firms must work to fully benefit from UK trade agreement

Trade partners: People walk on a road in Vietnam’s Yen Bai province. The country’s exporters are being encouraged to make use of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, but also understand fully its mechanisms. — AFP

HANOI: The United Kingdom-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) is giving a big push to Vietnamese exports, but insiders say firms still have much to do to make the most of the deal.

Nguye Thi Thu Trang, director of the Centre for World Trade Organisation and International Trade, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Viet Nam News that the preferential tariffs under the UKVFTA require strict compliance with its rules of origin, which stipulate the major part of the materials used in the manufacture of exports originate from its members.