The Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA) is a comprehensive, high-quality agreement that ensures a balance of benefits for both Vietnam and the EU and comes into force on 1st August 2020. After more than a year of implementing the EVFTA, trade and investment exchanges between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) have achieved positive results, despite many difficulties and obstacles caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
As of September 2021, Vietnam has attracted 2,242 projects (an increase of 164 projects over the same period in 2020) from 26/27 EU countries with registered investment capital of 22.24 billion USD (an increase of US$483 million over the same period in 2020), accounting for 5.58% of the total registered investment capital of countries and territories into Vietnam and occupied by 6.57% of projects.
The Netherlands is the leading country in terms of investment projects in Vietnam with 382 projects and 10.36 billion USD, accounting for 46.5% of the total investment capital of the EU in Vietnam; France ranked second with 632 projects and 3.62 billion USD, accounting for 16.25% of the total investment capital of the EU in Vietnam; Germany ranked third with 405 projects and 2.25 billion USD, accounting for 10.13% of the total investment capital of the EU in Vietnam.
Some large corporations in the EU are operating in Vietnam such as Total Elf Fina (France - Belgium), Shell Group (Netherlands), Daimler Chrysler (Germany), etc. Investment trends of EU countries are mainly in the field of high technology. In recent years, there has been a tendency to develop more on services, clean energy, supporting industries, food processing, high-tech agriculture, pharmaceuticals, etc. It is forecasted that FDI inflows from the EU into Vietnam in the medium and long term will increase significantly with many high-quality projects of high value.
According to Guru Mallikarjuna, General Director of Bosch Vietnam, said: “EVFTA is likely to accelerate Vietnam's efforts in institutional reform, which is essential to comply with international standards, especially in areas of environment, investment protection, labor standards and intellectual property.
In the first year of implementing the EVFTA, the Vietnamese Government has made great efforts to streamline administrative procedures, invest in public governance and workers' competitiveness, and perfect legal regulations to support compliance with international standards.”