Exporters urged to study EU policies

A good understanding of European Union trade barriers and policy trends was necessary for Vietnamese exporters to stay in the game, first secretary of the EU Delegation in Vietnam Hans Farnhammer said yesterday.

He made the statement during a workshop on EU trade barriers and Free Trade Agreements in the capital yesterday, organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

Farnhammer said EU technical regulations and industry standards did not restrict Vietnamese exporters but rather would improve their competitiveness; however, a good understanding of the Technical Barriers to Trade and keeping up with the policy changes was crucial to success.

The EU is Vietnam's second largest export market, with a turnover last year of 7.7 billion euros (US$9.4 billion) and 1.4 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in the first two months of this year.

Former deputy Minister of Commerce Phan The Rue said Vietnamese enterprises needed to research trade agreements and obstacles.

He said commercial disputes and anti-dumping lawsuits against Vietnam were increasing. For example on Viet Nam's leather footwear industry.

Vietnamese exporters needed to get legal advice before entering foreign markets, he said.

"Don't wait for disputes to happen to use a legal advisory service, use it before you enter the market," Rue stressed.

There were likely to be 100 trade disputes related to Vietnam this year but the number would increase to several hundreds in following years, he said.

Understanding a market's policies on the likes of technical standards, origin markings and trade barriers and keeping up with policy changes were paramount.

"Exporters are exposed to policy changes so it is essential to establish market research departments to give early alerts on the impacts of such changes"

The EU delegation said there was nothing in the regulations to prevent well-informed Vietnamese exporters complying with EU regulations and being competitive in the EU market.

It was the responsibility of industry associations and advisory services to provide information to exporters on markets and policies.

However, trade assistance consultant Claudio Dordi said Vietnam needed to increase product quality and reduce the proportion of imported materials in its exported products.