Leather, footwear and seafood industries have double the advantages.

The UK's accession to the CPTPP not only did not create barriers but also brought many advantages and great opportunities for domestic footwear and seafood businesses.

Vietnamese goods enjoy a double advantage.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2024, bilateral trade between Vietnam and member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans -Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is estimated to reach US$102.1 billion, an increase of 6.8% compared to 2023, accounting for 13.1% of total import and export turnover... This result demonstrates and confirms that domestic businesses and industry associations have understood and relatively well utilized the tariff preferences in the CPTPP.

The CPTPP agreement commits to completely eliminating 97-100% of import tariff lines on goods originating from Vietnam, depending on the commitments of each country. Vietnam also eliminated up to 86.5% of tariff lines after 3 years from the date the agreement came into effect. The remaining items have a tariff reduction schedule mainly ranging from 5-10 years.

According to experts, the CPTPP has created tremendous opportunities for Vietnam to access new markets. Notably, since December 15, 2024, when the CPTPP agreement officially comes into effect with the United Kingdom, the opportunities for domestic export businesses have become even greater.

Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Luong Hoang Thai, shared the advantages for Vietnamese goods when the United Kingdom joins the CPTPP.

Mr. Luong Hoang Thai, Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ), stated that through the CPTPP, the United Kingdom committed to immediately eliminating tariffs on 93.9% (common to all CPTPP countries) and 94.4% (specifically for Vietnam) of tariff lines. Simultaneously, it committed to allocating tariff quotas, both common to all countries and specific to each country, for 181 tariff lines: meat (beef, pork, chicken), rice, sugar, certain fruits, and transport vehicles.

In addition, through the CPTPP, the United Kingdom also committed to eliminating the longest-standing tariffs on goods originating from Vietnam, which is 11 years for 53 tariff lines (dairy products).

Director Luong Hoang Thai emphasized that with the UK joining the CPTPP, many Vietnamese agricultural products with export strengths such as rice, seafood, and cassava starch will benefit from better commitments compared to those in the UKVFTA.

From the perspective of associations and industries, Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam - Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Processing and Export (VASEP) - said that currently there are about 150 domestic seafood businesses cooperating and doing business with the UK, with an export value of 310-320 million USD/year. This is a very impressive figure, accounting for 30% of the total seafood export value to the European Union. The United Kingdom is an important market for the Vietnamese seafood industry in both exports and imports.

The UK's accession to the CPTPP brings many benefits to seafood businesses in terms of tariffs, rules of origin within the bloc, and more, especially for tuna products.

“ With CPTPP, the barrier on the export quota of tuna from Vietnam to the UK is removed ” - Deputy Secretary General of VASEP informed and said that this is a great source of encouragement for businesses.

The UK's accession to the CPTPP brings many benefits to seafood businesses in terms of tariffs and rules of origin within the bloc, especially for tuna products. Photo: Chi Nhan

Adding further information, Ms. Le Hang - Director of Communications of VASEP - also stated that with the UKVFTA, import taxes on Vietnamese seafood products into the UK are mostly reduced to 0%. However, a few product codes, such as processed shrimp (HS 160521 and 160529), are still subject to a 7% tax rate.

Of course, both of these Vietnamese product lines currently hold the number one position in the UK, dominating 36% of the market share, but the potential will be even greater when Vietnamese shrimp benefits from CPTPP tariff preferences when exported to this market.

The UK's accession to the CPTPP not only did not create barriers but has also brought many advantages and opportunities for domestic footwear and handbag businesses. Photo: Binh Duong

Sharing the same view, Ms. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan - Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso) - said that the UK's accession to the CPTPP not only did not create barriers but has also been bringing many advantages and creating more opportunities for domestic footwear and handbag businesses.

Firstly, domestic businesses have been doing very well in handling the procedures to take advantage of the CPTPP's preferential treatment for exporting to member countries of the Agreement. With the addition of the UK market, businesses can utilize existing procedures, thus saving costs, time, and administrative procedures.

Secondly, footwear and handbag businesses have more opportunities to expand their raw material supply sources from member countries, including the United Kingdom, for production and export within the CPTPP bloc.

Besides the advantages in goods trade, the UK's accession to the CPTPP also brings many economic benefits to Vietnam. Recently, the UK officially recognized Vietnam as a market economy. This is very favorable for Vietnam in trade defense investigations, especially anti-dumping investigations. With this result, Vietnamese export goods will not be discriminated against and will be subject to more reasonable anti-dumping duties.

Opportunities go hand in hand with challenges.

However, according to expert analysis, the UK's entry into the CPTPP presents both opportunities and challenges. Global economic fluctuations and escalating geopolitical conflicts are causing a decrease in UK consumer demand due to high inflation and tighter spending habits.

Furthermore, the UK is a market with high quality requirements and competitive prices. Requirements for green certifications and anti-deforestation regulations are increasingly favored and widely applied in the export business community, forcing businesses to invest more, thereby increasing input costs and product prices...

"In fact, the UK is one of the most demanding markets in the world when it comes to domestic product standards. Therefore, to take advantage of the opportunities in the CPTPP, Vietnamese exported goods must meet domestic product standards."

"Vietnamese businesses also need to enhance their competitiveness by improving product quality, strictly controlling the entire production process, and ensuring traceability to boost exports," recommended Ms. Hoang Le Hang, First Secretary of the Vietnamese Trade Office in the United Kingdom.

To offer solutions for leveraging tariff preferences in both the CPTPP and UKVFTA agreements, Lefaso's leaders suggest that export businesses should focus on building brand reputation, credibility, and responsibility in their trade activities. They should also pay attention to environmental and labor provisions in the CPTPP agreement to meet sustainable export criteria.

The leaders of the VASEP Association proposed that the Government and relevant ministries and agencies of both sides consider and facilitate connections and support for VASEP to meet and cooperate with Seafish (an association operating in the fisheries sector in the United Kingdom) to learn from their experience. This would open up opportunities for trade cooperation, thereby promoting bilateral trade and investment between the two sides.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/anh-gia-nhap-cptpp-nganh-da-giay-thuy-san-gap-doi-loi-the-375064.html