On the afternoon of December 11 in Hanoi, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and UK Minister for International Trade Elizabeth Truss officially signed the Agreement on the conclusion of the UK Free Trade Agreement negotiation. - Vietnam (UKVFTA). The Portal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade would like to introduce the full text of the Ministerial Joint Statement on the conclusion of the negotiation of this agreement: Vietnam and the United Kingdom (UK) are pleased to announce the conclusion of the Vietnam - UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation. 1. The UK and Vietnam have good diplomatic relations with more and more common goals. This is reflected in the continued development of the Vietnam - UK Strategic Partnership for another 10 years since September this year. This partnership provides a framework for a strong bilateral relationship, while outlining key priorities, including developing a low-carbon economy, supporting multilateralism, and promoting human and commercial rights. With Vietnam performing very well as the Chair of ASEAN in 2020, the UK has taken an important step towards becoming ASEAN's Dialogue Partner.

2. The UK and Vietnam share a common commitment to global trade and the free flow of capital and investment. This bilateral FTA provides an important continuation of the two sides' fast-growing, dynamic trade relationship. In 2019, UK businesses exported goods worth more than £ 600 million to Vietnam. Also in 2019, Vietnamese businesses exported goods to the UK with a value of about 4.6 billion pounds.

3. The Vietnam - UK bilateral FTA still maintains the interests of the two sides' existing trade relations under the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement. Trade in goods from textiles, footwear to seafood products remains uninterrupted. Trade in services, in particular financial services and e-commerce, could continue to grow.

4. Businesses can continue to benefit from reduced import and export taxes, increased access to service markets and protection of key products of Vietnam and the UK. This includes 65% of tariff lines that have been eliminated in UK-Vietnam trade. The above figure will increase to 99% after the end of the tariff reduction roadmap. By the end of the roadmap, Vietnam will benefit by saving £ 114 million in taxes on Vietnam's exported products. For UK exports, the corresponding figure would be £ 36 million.

5. This bilateral agreement thus represents the start of a new phase in relations between the two countries towards the development of key areas of trade. This FTA not only liberalizes trade in goods and services, but also integrates many other important factors, such as towards green growth and sustainable development.

6. This Agreement is also an important step forward for the UK to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). As a founding member of the CPTPP, Vietnam welcomes the UK's interest in joining the CPTPP Agreement and supports UK accession to the CPTPP Agreement in the future. Joining the CPTPP is a priority of the UK Government, and the UK Government has planned for this in early 2021. CPTPP is one of the most important free trade agreements in the world, accounting for a large proportion 13% of global GDP in 2019. If the UK joins the CPTPP Agreement, that figure will increase to 16% of the total global GDP. UK and Vietnam look forward to working closely on this.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade