On 8 June, the National Assembly ratified the Resolution on ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

After a nearly-10-year journey, the EVFTA is expected to bring a new horizon of the strategic relationship between Vietnam and the European Union. Accordingly, the EVFTA is supposed to come into force by August 2020.

For now, the EVFTA will take effect for the UK until the end of 2020 and could be extended for another 24 months as regarding the UK’s agreement with the EU.

However the effect of Brexit on EU trade and investment is another story. While existential crisis has been revealing by the Brexit in Europe, there are strong reasons to believe that Vietnam will continue to reap the opportunities of European trade in the next couple of years.

This is important free trade agreement so businesses should be proactively looking at the eligibility of their goods for the applicable rules of origin and considering possible changes to supply chains to benefit from the EVFTA.

RSM Vietnam’s consulting team is willing to support you for exploring business opportunities.