Vietnam, Canada boost trade ties

The participation of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in the G7 Outreach Summit and his visit to Canada from June 8-10 are expected to create more opportunities for Vietnamese and Canadian businesses to expand their partnership.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam is ranked the fifth in Asia in terms of export turnover to Canada, after China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and China’s Taiwan.

Vietnam mainly exported mobile phones, printers, electric cables, telecommunication equipment, wood furniture, garment-textile, footwear, aquatic products, coffee, cashew nuts, means of transportation and spare parts, sport equipment, rubber, plastic products, and processed fruit and vegetables to Canada.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in November 2017

The Southeast Asian country imported from Canada agro-fishery products, soft wood, medicines, wine, navigation services, high technology and clean technology.

Canada is ranked 13^th among the total 112 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 161 projects worth USD 5.2 billion.

Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Canada Do Thi Thu Huong said there is still large room for Vietnamese enterprises to boost exports to Canada, a country that relies on imports for consumer goods. Although the country’s market scale is only one tenth of the US’ but its per capita import value doubles that of the US.

She noted that made-in-Vietnam goods only make up over one percent of Canada’s total imports.

According to Huong, the large number of people of Asian origin, including around 250,000 Vietnamese, in Canada is an advantage for businesses to boost exports of farm produce to the market.

The trade official added that the Canadian Government plans to persify the market and reduce its import from the US. Therefore, Vietnam is one of the nations with which Canadian companies want to increase trade and investment ties, she said.

Huong revealed that the Vietnamese Trade Office in Canada has worked with Canada’s Trade Facilitation Office to implement projects helping Vietnamese firms make inroads into the market.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh appreciated Canada’s dynamism in cooperation with the ASEAN alongside with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

In the context of rising protectionism, the role of countries with remarkable influence such as Canada is very important to international integration and globalization, the minister said.

He was of the view that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and other bilateral and multilateral trade deals that both Vietnam and Canada might join will continue to provide an impetus for globalization.

Minister Tuan Anh affirmed that Vietnam shares other ASEAN countries’ interest in researching and reaching a free trade agreement between the bloc and Canada besides the RCEP and other regional cooperative framework.

The ministry has directed trade offices and relevant units to apply measures to boost exports of Vietnamese key products to Canada, he said.

Apart from long-term strategies, businesses should make use of commitments and incentives from the signed agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the RCEP to promote exports to Canada, the minister added.

Over the past two decades, Canada has been one of the leading providers of development assistance for Vietnam.

Canada considers Vietnam a priority partner in Asia in its global market action plan, international education strategy, and development assistance policy.

The two countries have also closely work at multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, and the International Organization of Francophone (IOF)./.

( VNF/VNA )