Background information on the free trade Agreement between the Eurasian economic Union and its member States on the one hand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the other
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Eurasian economic Council No. 27 of December 19, 2012, the countries of the Customs Union together with the Board of the Eurasian economic Commission were instructed to ensure negotiations on the conclusion of a free trade agreement with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Negotiations with this country started in March 2013 and were completed after 8 rounds in March 2015.
In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Eurasian economic Council No. 14 of may 8, 2015, the free trade Agreement between the Eurasian economic Union and its member States on the one hand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the other hand was signed at the meeting of the Eurasian intergovernmental Council on may 29, 2015 in Burabay.
Reference: The agreement consists of the following sections: legal issues, trade in goods, trade protection measures, SPS, TBT, intellectual property rights protection, competition, trade in services and investment, e-Commerce, rules of origin and customs cooperation, and sustainable development. In General, all sections were developed taking into account the WTO rules on the formation of free trade zones.
The section on trade in goods provides duty-free access for most goods in the mutual trade of the parties to the Agreement. At the same time, tariff protection is maintained for sensitive goods for the EAEU member States: all types of meat and dairy products, tea, coffee, sugar, instant drinks, pipes, certain types of mechanical and electrical equipment, cars, trucks, tractors, etc. It is also still possible to apply customs duties at the level of the MFN to the most sensitive items of light industry (clothing and footwear).
Under the section trade in services and investments, Kazakhstan is not a participant. The language of the Agreement is English.
In General, the Agreement provides for trade liberalization through the abolition of customs duties in mutual trade, agreement on criteria for sufficient processing that are beneficial to all project participants, reaching agreements on trade facilitation and intensifying contacts between the competent authorities of the Parties in order to facilitate administrative procedures for business. The combination of these measures is primarily aimed at creating a multiplier effect from bilateral and multilateral preferential trade, which is expressed not only in a direct increase in trade turnover, but also by deepening cooperation in the investment sphere.