For the FTA Index to truly be a growth driver

Exporting enterprises need to make the most of tax incentives from FTAs. In photo: Producing wooden products for export at Woodsland Tuyen Quang Joint Stock Company (Tuyen Quang province).

The picture reflects the effectiveness of local integration

Previously, after a period of survey and research, in April 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the Index to assess the implementation results of Free Trade Agreements in localities (FTA Index) in 2024, marking an important milestone in Vietnam's international economic integration process. This is the first time that the level of implementation and utilization of FTAs has been systematically measured at the local level, clearly reflecting the capacity and methods of realizing integration commitments.

The index is built on four main pillars: FTA propaganda and dissemination; implementation of legal regulations; policies to support competitiveness enhancement; and implementation of sustainable development commitments.

According to Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) Ngo Chung Khanh, the FTA Index is a “thermometer” that helps Vietnam see the integration picture at each level. Besides positive results, limitations and differences between localities mainly come from leadership thinking and resource allocation. “Many localities only have one officer in charge of FTA, making it difficult to meet the needs of businesses; while most businesses do not have a legal department or experts with in-depth understanding of international commitments,” said Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh.

From a research perspective, Associate Professor Dr. Dao Ngoc Tien, Vice Principal of Foreign Trade University, the unit that analyzed the FTA Index data, said: "There are localities with small export scale but good FTA Index scores thanks to dynamic authorities, proactively connecting and accompanying businesses. On the contrary, many localities still do not consider FTA as a long-term strategy, leading to fragmented implementation, heavy on formality."

Another notable point is the large difference in the pillar of sustainable development. Ca Mau is a typical example, leading the country thanks to the close connection between the government and businesses in environmental protection and sustainable fisheries exploitation - key factors in new generation FTAs.

From the business community, Dr. Nguyen Van Than, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME), commented: “Most small and medium enterprises are still struggling with the processing stage, lacking strategies to penetrate FTA markets. They have not fully recognized the impact of integration on competitiveness.”

Change your mindset, improve your reality

Evaluating the first year of the FTA Index, experts found that many localities have been more proactive in their actions. According to Dr. Dao Ngoc Tien, while in the past FTA activities were limited to propaganda and seminars, many provinces have now developed specific plans for each industry, identified key markets and focused on export enterprises as the support center.

Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department Ngo Chung Khanh also highly appreciated this change, emphasizing: “The most important thing is that provincial and municipal leaders must directly participate in discussing how to take advantage of FTAs to support businesses in a real way, not just to “increase scores”. According to Mr. Ngo Chung Khanh, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is aiming to upgrade the FTA Index to become a criterion for assessing integration capacity at the local level, thereby creating positive pressure forcing local leaders to pay attention to investing in human resources, policies and supporting infrastructure.

In order for the FTA Index to play its real role, Dr. Dao Ngoc Tien recommended adjusting the proportion of indicators, increasing the role of the pillars of sustainable development and non-tariff incentives, and expanding the scope of the survey to cooperatives and collective economies - forces that have increasingly clear contributions to exports but have not been fully reflected in the index.

From practical implementation, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is also coordinating with ministries, branches and localities to develop a set of questions that are closer to reality, helping localities "increase scores" along with improving quality - that is, improving implementation capacity, not just achieving results.

In addition, experts warn that the global economic context is changing rapidly with protectionist trends, trade conflicts and green development requirements, making the use of new generation FTAs more urgent than ever. Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department Ngo Chung Khanh said that Vietnamese enterprises need to diversify export markets, not depend on traditional markets, and at the same time invest in green transformation, clean energy, and traceability, because these are mandatory "passports" for Vietnamese goods to go far.

Overall, the FTA Index is not only a measuring tool, but also a “mirror” of integration efficiency - where each locality and enterprise can reflect on themselves to take action. When this index is considered an official measure and when enterprises and the government share the same vision of sustainable integration, the FTA will truly become a driving force for national growth, helping Vietnam affirm its position in the global value chain.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/de-fta-index-thuc-su-la-dong-luc-tang-truong-721852.html