Vietnam strengthens efforts towards ASEAN Economic Community establishmentThe ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is one of the three pillars under the ASEAN Community which will be established at this year-end. Together with other ASEAN member countries, Vietnam is attempting to seize new opportunities from a more integrated market, with 625 million people and GDP of more than US$2,000 billion that the AEC offers.ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh said that more than 90% of a total of 506 measures outlined in the AEC roadmap had already been achieved since the AEC Blueprint was formalised in 2008. Despite the negative impacts of the global economic recession, ASEAN countries have achieved economic success, while amending and promulgating policies to achieve the objective of converting the region into an independent market and production platform with free flow of goods, services, investment and skilled labour.According to Deputy Head Cao Thanh Diep of ASEAN office under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department, considering priority measures that ASEAN Economic Ministers have set out, by March 31, 2015, Vietnam and Singapore are the twos that reach highest rates in implementing ASEAN priority measures with a major impact on trade and investment in the region, reaching 94.5% compared with 91.1% of ASEAN average rate.This reflects determination and efforts by Vietnam towards the establishment of AEC later this year. Specifically, for trade in goods, by February 2009 Vietnam together with ASEAN countries signed the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), replacing comprehensively the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme and other agreements on trade in goods that were finalised during 1992-2008. As of 2015, Vietnam has completed the import tax reduction for 9,265 tariff lines (based on the 2012 version of the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature) to from 0%-5%, representing 97% of the total tariff lines, of which 8,604 ones at the tax rate of 0%, accounting for 90%.The country has been working closely with ASEAN countries to review and implement the ASEAN Trade Facilitation Work Programme 2007-2015 adopted by ASEAN Economic Ministers, with a focus on customs, trade procedures, standards and conformance, ASEAN Single Window, ASEAN trade facilitation database, and more.
Vietnam and six other ASEAN countries – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – have implemented all or part of the one stop shop mechanism and are participating in the deployment of ASEAN single window for some components.
For trade in services, Vietnam joined ASEAN countries to complete the 9th ASEAN Frame Agreement on Service (AFAS) Package together with the 10th AFAS Package. The country and ASEAN began negotiations on ASEAN trade in services to inherit and consolidate the AFAS agreement.
Regarding investment, Vietnam, like other ASEAN members, has strengthened efforts to progress against investment restriction removal. In the field of investment promotion and liberalisation, Vietnam achieved results including publishing guidebooks for business investment and an annual ASEAN Investment Report, organising seminars and forums on investment promotion, and developing ASEAN information sites on investment, and more.
In addition, Vietnam also actively co-operates with ASEAN countries in implementing activities in other areas, notably: strengthening competitiveness in food, agriculture and forestry among ASEAN; building strategic action plan on food security; promoting competition management law-building and competition management authorities establishment in countries do not have competitive management laws and competitive management authorities, while embracing effective co-operation methods; adopting legal documents playing as the basis for co-operation in the field of air and road transport; and implementing programmes and measures to support small and medium-sized enterprises.
ASEAN is now the third largest economy in Asia and seventh in the world and is expected to rise to fourth place by 2050. The ASEAN Community market after 2015 not only includes 625 million people from ten countries, but also six trading partners under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership region (RCEP), including China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, to up to 3.3 billion people, with cargo accounting for one third of the world gross product value.
Vietnam is at the forefront with other ASEAN countries to finalise the set out AEC deadlines, contributing to affirm that the ASEAN can move towards a true economic community.
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