IE promotes the use of ASEAN’s FTAs

The seminars took place over two days from March 23-24, 2011 in conjunction with ProPak Vietnam 2011, Vietnam’s top trade fair for the processing, filling and packaging industry.

Jason Lim, International Enterprises (IE) Singapore’s centre director for Ho Chi Minh City, said Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) free trade agreements (FTA)allowed Vietnamese buyers and importers to enjoy savings when importing from the partnering ASEAN countries and its FTA partners.

“They also open up market access for foreign direct investment and businesses in Vietnam. This benefits the ASEAN economies as the flow of goods and services will translate into lowered prices and increased variety for consumers. We hope that the sharing from the outreach seminars will benefit Vietnamese businesses and furtherboost trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Singapore,” said Lim.

According to IE Singapore, free trade initiatives have been on a rise in Asia. As of 2010, there were 47 FTAs in force in Asia. This is a significant leap from the three signed back in 2000. In the ASEAN region specifically, six FTAs have been signed, namely ASEAN FTA, ASEAN-China FTA, ASEAN-Korea FTA, ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership, ASEAN-Australia & New Zealand FTA and the ASEAN-India FTA.

The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) was the first to be established among the six. The AFTA integrates the ASEAN economies into a single market of 560 million people and is a critical tool to facilitate smooth intra-ASEAN flow for goods, investments and services. It encourages trade by eliminating non-tariff barriers.

Vietnam joined ASEAN in 1995, after the AFTA came into force on January 1, 1993. As part of the AFTA, Vietnam’s import duties on unprocessed agricultural products will be reduced to 0-5 per cent by 2013 and import duties on all products eliminated by 2015.

IE Singapore’s FTA Outreach Seminars at ProPak Vietnam 2011 provided information of tariff commitments under ASEAN’s FTAs and practical advice on how to utilise these FTAs to keep business costs low and increase price competitiveness. These seminars targeted participants and attendees at ProPak Vietnam 2011, consisting of manufacturers and traders in sectors such as packaging, filling, processing and their related fields of automation, storage and refrigeration.

In addition to organising the FTA Outreach Seminar, IE Singapore is also supporting the Singapore Pavilion led by the Singapore Manufacturers’ Federation at ProPak Vietnam 2011. Twelve Singapore-based companies from the manufacturing sector exhibited their products at the tradeshow.