Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – The Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is entering its sixth year of implementation, and with the launch of a deeper tariff reduction roadmap, Vietnam's exports to the EU27 are expected to continue their positive momentum.
Significant Tariff Reductions, Strong Export Growth
Thanks to the EVFTA, which came into effect in August 2020, Vietnam-EU trade has seen strong growth in recent years. Five years after its implementation, the EVFTA has been recognized as one of the most efficient agreements, making a significant contribution to expanding bilateral trade. In 2024, bilateral trade reached nearly US$70 billion. Cumulative bilateral trade over the past five years has reached approximately US$300 billion.
Despite the impact of global trade turmoil, in the first nine months of 2025, Vietnam-EU trade is still expected to reach nearly US$55 billion, with exports reaching nearly US$41 billion (up 9.3%) and imports reaching US$13 billion (up 4.3%).
The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Federation of Industry and Commerce (VCCI) stated that the EVFTA is one of the EU's highest-standard and most successful free trade agreements, providing strong support for bilateral trade. For Vietnam, major export categories such as electronics, textiles, footwear, machinery, and agricultural and aquatic products have effectively utilized the opportunities presented by the agreement.
Vietnamese enterprises are penetrating the European market more deeply by upgrading production, diversifying products, and meeting green standards. A prime example is the Indochina Innovation Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, which, despite significant market volatility, has seen its exports of arts and crafts to the EU grow by over 20% in the past three years, particularly in France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.
This achievement is attributed to the company's accurate understanding of market demand, development of high-value product lines, and a focus on design and sustainable, environmentally friendly factors, such as high-end bamboo and rattan woven home furnishings, home decorations, hats, and handbags.
Hoang Thi Thanh Tam, manager of Indochina Innovation Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, said, “The EVFTA has reduced tariffs on most of our export product categories to 0% or only 2-3%, making us more price-competitive and allowing us to maintain our export advantage.”
Tran Ngoc Quan, Vietnam’s Commercial Counselor to Belgium and the EU, stated that seven years after the agreement’s implementation, the EU will eliminate tariffs on almost all Vietnamese goods. Facing a market with imports exceeding $2.64 trillion, zero tariffs are a significant advantage.
Adapting to European “Green Standards” for Survival
Vietnam has signed 17 free trade agreements, including several new-generation agreements such as the EVFTA, CPTPP, and UKVFTA. This forces businesses to upgrade themselves to meet the increasingly stringent standards of developed markets.
Hoang Thi Thanh Tam stated, “Starting in 2018-2019, in cooperation with large French and German groups, we invested in building factories according to European standards to meet customer requirements, thus enabling us to expand into many other markets.”
Businesses are also proactively improving their certifications, product standards, safe production processes, and rules of origin. “Traceability requirements force us to invest in building a control system from raw materials to finished products. Although difficult, it's essential for sustainable development,” added Hoang Thi Thanh Tam.
Once recognized by the EU market, doors to other high-standard markets such as the US, Japan, and Canada will open wider.
However, the biggest challenge currently is complying with sustainability requirements. New EU regulations on the environment, labor, traceability, and anti-deforestation require companies to invest long-term in clean technologies, renewable energy, and supply chain risk management.
Tran Ngoc emphasized that the EU market is strongly shifting towards green and clean consumption. Consumers are not only concerned with price and quality but also with production processes, emissions levels, and corporate social responsibility. The EU is currently promoting the “European Green Deal”—a comprehensive strategy aimed at building a modern, resource-efficient economy and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
“When tariffs are no longer an effective protective tool, the EU has strengthened trade defense measures such as anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures. Vietnamese companies need to proactively make their country of origin transparent, manage risks, and improve their compliance capabilities,” Mr. Tran cautioned.
Therefore, to effectively utilize the EVFTA, Vietnamese enterprises need to shift their mindset from "selling what they already have" to "doing what the market needs," while also investing more systematically in brand building, green certification, and supply chain management. (End)
