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Vietnam

Vietnam signed a fairly comprehensive bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the United States in 2000. It came into force in 2001. The BTA was part of the post-war "trade normalisation" process between the two countries and should be seen as strong precursor to a watertight US FTA. In June 2007, Hanoi and Washington signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, yet another step towards a possible FTA. And in December 2008, the two governments began negotiating a hardcore bilateral investment treaty (BIT), yet another.

In January 2007, Hanoi and Tokyo began talks towards a Japan-Vietnam deal, which was finally signed in December 2008. Shortly after, Vietnam began talks with Chile, with the FTA signed in 2011. Hanoi already signed an FTA with Israel back in 2004 and may join the TPP. It is also intending to negotiate FTAs with EFTA, Russia and Mexico

As a member of ASEAN, Vietnam is caught up in the bloc’s regional FTA dealings with Korea, the EU, China, Japan and India. The Vietnamese government has also signed a number of bilateral intellectual property and science & technology agreements with industrialised countries, as well as more than 30 BITs.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Phó Nháy/Wikimedia


Would TPP be good or bad to Vietnam’s agriculture?
Analysts have warned that Vietnam’s agriculture, which has been protected with the high import tariffs, would suffer from TPP once the import tariffs are removed
Vietnam, Customs Union kick off FTA talks
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission’s Board Viktor Borisovich Khristenko, on March 28, officially launched negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Vietnam’s president hopes for swift conclusion of free trade talks with S. Korea
Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang voiced hope for a swift conclusion of negotiations with South Korea on forging a bilateral free trade deal but noted that an agreement should take each other’s interests into consideration.
South Korea-Vietnam to sign free trade agreement
On November 27, a conference relating to the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea was held in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ukrainian PM urges efforts to accelerate FTA talks with Vietnam
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov Wednesday urged to speed up Free Trade Area (FTA) negotiations with Vietnam.
Vietnam, Russia to speed up trade pact talks: report
Vietnamese and Russian officials have said they will push harder for a free trade agreement as the countries aim to more than double their trade value in the next three years.
Vietnam, Russia to kick-start FTA negotiations
Top Vietnamese and Russian leaders have agreed to accelerate negotiations and the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the customs alliance of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
Mexico, Viet Nam examine free-trade agreement
During a visit to Mexico last week, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Vietnamese National Assembly Vice Chairwoman, met with Senator Alberto Anaya Gutierrez, General Secretary of the Mexican Labour Party, to review the friendship between the two countries.
US presses Vietnam ahead of ASEAN meeting
A top US trade official on Tuesday said he urged Vietnam to undo a number of trade-restrictive policies aimed at curbing inflation and reducing the country’s current account deficit.
Vietnam plans to raise labor standards before FTA negotiations
Until now, Vietnam has not signed any bilateral or multilateral trade agreements with provisions on labor standards. The TPP may change this.