Vietnam has 16 free trade agreements (FTAs) in effect with over 60 partners, most of which are major economies spanning all continents, accounting for nearly 90% of global GDP.
This result has made our country one of the top 20 leading countries in the world in terms of international trade scale, with high, stable growth rates and continuous records in trade surplus.
On the afternoon of June 4, the National Assembly conducted the second group of questions in the field of industry and trade. The Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Hong Dien, was the one answering the questions.
Reporting to the National Assembly, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated: In recent years, despite facing many unprecedented difficulties and challenges such as supply chain disruptions, reduced total demand due to pandemics, armed conflicts, trade wars, and geopolitical competition among major countries.
Many existing issues within the industry could not be thoroughly resolved, particularly the continuous lack of ministry leaders and experienced sector personnel. However, under the leadership and direction of the Party and State, especially the Government and the Prime Minister, and with the support, coordination, and assistance of all levels, sectors, the business community, voters, and people nationwide, the industry and trade sector has strived to achieve many positive results in various aspects, making significant contributions to the country’s economic development.
Notably, industrial production has overcome the difficult period post-pandemic, gradually recovering and developing, with a breakthrough from the third quarter of the previous year until now, maintaining the role of a growth driver for the national economy.
Domestic trade has grown quite strongly, surpassing the set targets and serving as a pillar for the economy in the context of many remaining difficulties and challenges. Goods are abundant, prices stable, and import-export has continuously set new records in terms of turnover and trade surplus for eight consecutive years.
Despite many efforts, the management, supervision, and protection of consumer rights in e-commerce still face significant challenges and limitations, as stated in the report sent to the National Assembly members.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to promote effective solutions to strengthen the management and supervision of e-commerce activities, better protecting consumer rights.
To boost domestic production and create momentum for economic growth, in recent years, the Government and the Prime Minister have been directing the Ministry of Industry and Trade along with other sectors and localities to enhance import-export activities through negotiating, signing, and effectively exploiting the FTAs that Vietnam is a member of.
To date, Vietnam has 16 FTAs in effect with over 60 partners, most of which are major economies spanning all continents, accounting for nearly 90% of global GDP, positioning our country among the top 20 leading countries in the world in terms of international trade scale, with high, stable growth rates and continuous records in trade surplus.
To achieve these results, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien stated that the industry and trade sector has actively coordinated with ministries, sectors, and localities to vigorously promote and disseminate international commitments in the FTAs that Vietnam is a member of.
Simultaneously, guiding and assisting businesses and producers to focus on exploiting key potential markets; boosting trade promotion activities, connecting supply and demand, and leveraging the role of Vietnam’s overseas representative offices in promptly providing market information, new regulations, and policies of host countries to help businesses, producers, and state management agencies respond with appropriate policies. Effectively exploiting FTAs in recent times has helped Vietnamese businesses expand and diversify markets and supply chains, and boost exports, enabling our goods to participate more deeply in global production and supply chains.
However, the effectiveness of exploiting the incentives from FTAs has not met expectations. Our country’s import-export activities still heavily rely on a few major markets. The proportion of export turnover from our domestic enterprises is still low compared to foreign enterprises. These are issues that the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities need to focus on addressing in the future.
Regarding the field of supporting industries and mechanical engineering for agriculture, in recent years, the industry and trade sector, fulfilling its assigned functions and tasks, has proactively implemented effective policies to support the investment and development of these industries as regulated by the State.
Timely coordination with ministries, sectors, and localities has resolved difficulties, supported associations and enterprises to recover and develop production, and actively connected domestic businesses to participate in the supply chains of multinational corporations.
With the State’s support and the extraordinary efforts of the business community, our country’s supporting industries and mechanical engineering have made significant progress, with growth rates higher than the overall industry’s growth rate, maintaining a leading role in driving the industry’s growth, contributing to increasing localization and added value in the country, making important contributions to total import-export turnover, trade surplus, and economic restructuring in agriculture, rural areas, and farmers, and overall national growth.
With a high sense of responsibility, frankness, and willingness to listen, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated that he will listen, absorb, and be ready to explain the comments of the National Assembly members around the issues that the National Assembly requires.
Nha Mi
An Ninh Tien Te