European Commission Directorate-General for Trade

Vietnam

The EU works closely with Vietnam under the framework of the Cooperation Agreement to ensure an effective environment for trade and investment relations. Relations will soon be further strengthened through and new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) which will extend the areas of cooperation.

Vietnam is one of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The countries as a group are the EU's third largest trading partners outside Europe, after the United States and China. Vietnam has seen radical economic and social transformation over the past decade alongside integration into the word economy. As a rapidly developing and fast growing ASEAN economy, Vietnam holds substantial potential for EU businesses.

Vietnam has attracted increased FDI flows during the past years, and the EU is one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam

Trade in goods

• EU good exports to Vietnam in 2011: €5.2 billion
• EU goods imports from Vietnam in 2011: €12.8 billion

Bilateral trade in goods and services between the EU and ASEAN reached some €206 billion in 2010.

Within ASEAN, Vietnam is the EU's fifth largest trading partner with bilateral trade amounting to €18 billion in 2011.

The EU has a negative balance of trade in goods with Vietnam. Negotiating better access for EU exporters to the dynamic ASEAN market was identified as a priority under the 2006 Global Europe trade strategy.

More statistics on Vietnam

FTA negotiations between the EU and Vietnam

Negotiations with Singapore were launched in March 2010, and with Malaysia in September 2010. Vietnam has also given a political signal that it is ready to launch formal FTA negotiations with the EU, and preparatory work has been concluded with the finalisation of the so-called scoping paper in March 2012. This is an important stepping stone towards launching trade negotiations with Vietnam, as the scoping sets out the framework for the trade negotiations.

More information on EU relations with Vietnam