FTA • An Update
25 January 2018
By Tim de Ridder
Often times, the companies we talk to are interested in what the status of the free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam is. At this point, officials are still in the process of finalizing and ratifying the deal. We therefore take this opportunity to inform you on the current status.
Since the magnitude of the free trade agreement is of such significance, finding a consensus to which both parties can agree on takes time. The agreement consists of a number of smaller deals related to foreign investment, liberalizing trade, investment protection, and so on. And since the EU represents not just one country, but an entire trading block in Europe, it can be rather difficult to satisfy every country’s preference.
So, how do they deal with this? Well, since both parties are eager to let this treaty come into force, they decided to speed up the process by already making plans to implement what is finished. For instance, the most important topics in the agreement, which are the liberalization of investment and trade, will already be implemented over the course of 2018. A separate deal will be made regarding the investment protection, since this requires approval from both the European Parliament and the separate member states’ parliaments of the EU. The separation and completion of the first part of the deal is expected in February. The remainder of the deal will come into force as of early 2019.
We believe this clearly demonstrates the willingness of both parties to enhance and strengthen their economic ties. By being pragmatic, both parties show how much they value the deal and that they serve the best interests of the companies and citizens to which this deal applies.
Feel free to get in touch with us if you would like to find out how the deal affects your business.