Experts have expressed the hope that the recently-signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement will create opportunities for Vietnam’s agricultural products to extend their reach in the region and the world.
According to Le Duy Minh, President of the Vietnam Farms and Agricultural Enterprises Association, the agriculture sector has already been integrating intensively and extensively into the world. Still, it continues to face considerable difficulties and challenges, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, trade disputes between major economies, and an increase in technical barriers in many countries.
Vietnam signed a number of important economic deals in 2020, heralding a new era of economic integration with opportunities to expand export markets and attract more domestic and foreign investment.
Among the deals, the RCEP, which gathers together 10 ASEAN countries and five partners (the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand), is the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA), as it covers a market of about 2.2 billion consumers and accounts for some 30 percent of the global GDP.
As reported on en.vietnamplus.vn, Minh said the commitments in the RCEP to open up goods, services, and investment markets, simplify customs procedures, set up trade-facilitating rules of origin and minimise trade barriers are expected to boost the development of regional and global value chains and foster member economies, including Vietnam.