VN-EAEU FTA will take effect on October 5

According to an announcement released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Vietnam-Eurasia Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (VN-EAEU FTA) will take effect on October 5, 2016.

The VN-EAEU FTA which features Vietnam, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, was initiated from March, 2013 and after eight official rounds of negotiations and many mid-term meetings, the agreement was signed on May 29, 2015.

The Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently issued a statement announcing that the two sides have completed procedures and the agreement will take effect from October 5, 2016.

The Euro Market Department under the MoIT said that after the VN-EAEU FTA takes effect, the two sides will establish a joint committee, a committee on goods trade, and a subcommittee on origin regulations for the effective implementation and supervision of the agreement.

Total bilateral trade revenues between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are expected to triple from about 4 billion USD in 2014 to 12 billion USD by 2020, after a free trade agreement between the two sides takes effect. Vietnam’s exports to the union alone are expected to grow by 18-20 per cent per year.