The free trade agreement with South Korea officially took effect on December 20. The deal is expected to help fuel trade and expand investment opportunities between the two countries, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a press release.
After starting negotiations in September 2012, the two sides formally signed the FTA on May 5.
The free trade agreement with South Korea officially took effect on December 20.
Under the deal, the two sides will establish a ministerial level joint committee and subcommittees on goods trade, customs, trade defence, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade to accelerate the implementation of the agreement.
Yonhap News cited the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as saying that under the FTA, companies from the two trading partners can benefit from more tariff cuts. Besides textiles and car parts, the bilateral FTA will open Vietnam up to South Korean consumer goods.
Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and South Korea has increased from just USD500,000 in 1992 to USD28.8 billion in 2014.
Last year, South Korea was the third largest trade partner of Vietnam after China and the US, while Vietnam is South Korean's sixth largest export market. Two-way trade value increased 5.7% against 2013, with Vietnamese exports to South Korea estimated at USD7.1 billion, and imports at USD21.7 billion.
According to the General Department of Customs, in the first 11 months of this year, bilateral trade hit USD33.6 billion, up 27.6% on-year.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that, as of October 20 this year, South Korea was Vietnam’s biggest investor, with 4,777 projects valued at USD43.6 billion.
