According to EVFTA, the tariff on goods from Europe to Vietnam will drop sharply, then Vietnamese people do not have to fly abroad to buy branded goods and it will attract hundreds of millions of international visitors to Vietnam to travel and buy cassava.
On the morning of October 6, the Customs Newspaper and the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City in coordination with the European Business Association (EuroCham) held a seminar: “The Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City and Enterprises are implementing EVFTA”.
Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Mai Xuan Thanh, Deputy Director of the Customs Department, said the EU is one of the largest trading partners of Vietnam with two-way turnover reaching 56.45 billion USD in 2019.
In the midst of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, challenging the sustainability of global value chains, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) was implemented, opening up a golden opportunity. promoting cooperation and development, creating export opportunities, expanding supply chains, is a strong driving force for Vietnam and the EU to overcome difficulties and challenges before the fluctuations of the global economy.
“For the EVFTA Agreement, the tax will be an advantage for Vietnam, while the EU also has an advantage in trade deficit in Vietnam. Thus, the EVFTA Agreement will be a comprehensive and balanced ground for both sides ”, Mr. Thanh emphasized.
Overview of the seminar: “Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City and Enterprise are accompanying EVFTA implementation”. (Photo: Nhu Huynh)
According to data from the General Department of Customs of Ho Chi Minh City, the city currently has 909 projects of European enterprises (EU) licensed for investment certificates with a total capital of 3.17 billion USD (excluding the UK).
The EU is the traditional trade surplus market of Ho Chi Minh City and is the third export partner, the second importer of the city, with bilateral turnover reaching 15.44 billion USD. Therefore, the EVFTA Agreement will open a wider door for HCMC goods to access the EU’s market of over 500 million people.
From a corporate perspective, Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, Chairman of the Inter-Pacific Company-Imexpan Pacific (IPPG), said that EVFTA will bring many advantages for both Vietnamese businesses and consumers and all win big. in this agreement.
“In the next 3-5 years we will see Vietnam develop 3 non-tariff shopping areas – Factory Outlet in Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Da Nang. The most attractive thing is that consumers will have the opportunity to participate in the “discount” brand-name shopping area, from the non-tariff, Mr. Hanh shared and predicted that these shopping centers could welcome about 90 million – 100 million visitors / year.
According to the “king of brands”, when this group has 3 non-tariff zones, it will import goods from Europe from 3 to 5 billion USD. This is the basis to prove that European goods enter Vietnam much and balance the trade balance of the two sides, not just the current trade surplus.

Speakers attended the seminar on October 6 morning. (Photo: Nhu Huynh)
According to Mr. Dinh Ngoc Thang, according to the tariff reduction roadmap when implementing EVFTA, the state budget revenue of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department in particular and the Customs sector in general will decrease. the annual Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City accounts for nearly 40% of the whole industry).
Specifically, according to calculations, the unit’s budget revenue will decrease from VND 500-1,000 billion in the next 3 months. In the future trend, Vietnam will increase the attraction of FDI and domestic revenue.
Accordingly, in the coming time, the goal of the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department is to build support for businesses, fight smuggling and trade frauds, maximize the role of gatekeepers in import and export activities.
In particular, the HCM City Customs Department is committed to always ready to listen and share with the business community with the spirit of market demand, thereby capturing and absorbing the opinions of businesses related to management policies. import and export goods; Tax policy and customs clearance …
Sharing the same point of view, Mr. Jean Jacques Bouflet, Vice President of EuroCham shared that for many years, EuroCham has always considered customs as the biggest partner, accompanying in promoting the development of bilateral trade relations.
Up to now, more than 50% of the volume of goods exchanged between Vietnam and the EU has passed through the gates and ports of Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, the synchronous implementation of trade facilitation solutions and support for the implementation of the EVFTA Agreement by Ho Chi Minh City Customs is important to the import-export business community of both sides.
According to Mr. Jean Jacques Bouflet, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department has actively connected, exchanged and exchanged directly with the European business community in Vietnam to discuss and propose solutions to well implement policies. new, especially implementing EVFTA Agreement. It is one of the most valuable commitments to promote the fullest and most effective implementation of the EVFTA Agreement.
In addition, Mr. Johnathan Hanh Nguyen said that it is important for Vietnamese businesses to export goods to Europe for a long time to maintain prestige, price stability, quality commitment and social responsibility. In addition, Vietnamese enterprises need to change their ideology, cannot operate with the way of “different quality today, different quality tomorrow”.
One essential element, on the other hand, is price stability. If enterprises increase or decrease prices because of the supply-demand gap, it will affect the reputation of the company in particular and the Vietnamese business community in general.
According to VietnamBiz