The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi) and other organisations have written to the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, to urge him to move forward with a proposed free-trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam.
On Oct. 17, the European Commission approved the submission of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to the European Council for formal signature and its transmission to the European Parliament for ratification in early 2019.
The EVFTA is the first comprehensive EU agreement signed with a developing country in Asia that would help open its market. In addition to commitments on trade, services and investment, the EVFTA also includes issues related to institutions and regulatory frameworks in various key areas such as the environment, employment, state-owned enterprises, intellectual property, government procurement and public investment.
This agreement will eliminate more than 99 percent of tariffs over a seven-year period. EU companies will also benefit more from incentives when investing and doing business in Vietnam, Fesi noted.
On the other hand, it will make imports of sports shoes and apparel into the EU cheaper for the sports brands and their importers. A lot of OEM production has moved from China to Vietnam in recent years.
The letter sent by Fesi asks the council and EU member states to devote the necessary resources to finalizing this review and completing the deal in the course of 2019. It points out that, as a fast-developing country of more than 90 million people with a growing middle class, Vietnam will be an increasingly important consumer and sourcing market for EU companies. However, it warns that European companies are facing increased competition from countries with which Vietnam already has free trade agreements, and that EU businesses risk losing market share in important sectors in Vietnam and harming their competitiveness in the region.
The EU is a major trading and investment partner of Vietnam. The volume of trade amounted to nearly $51 billion in 2017, 12 times more than in 2000, and could reach more than $53 billion this year.
