The 5th meeting of the Vietnam Free Trade Council

Participants from Vietnam included representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, Planning and Investment, Science and Technology and units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade . The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Chile Pham Truong Giang and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Chile to Vietnam Sergio Narea.

The meeting took place in the context of the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the Vietnam - Chile FTA, as well as the CPTPP Agreement which officially came into effect for both countries from February 2023. The two sides assessed that this was an appropriate time for the two sides to sit down and discuss, not only to review the work from the previous meeting, but also to identify the contents that need to be implemented in the coming period to continue to effectively implement the VCFTA Agreement, thereby promoting bilateral economic , trade and investment cooperation.

At the meeting, the two sides reviewed the implementation of the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Agreement in recent times, as well as updated the trade exchange situation between the two countries.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long speaks at the meeting

In terms of trade, the comprehensive cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Chile has been developing very well. Since the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was ratified and officially took effect in 2014, businesses of both sides have effectively taken advantage of the opportunities from the Agreement to exploit each other's markets. 2022 marked a record bilateral trade turnover of 2.2 billion USD, doubling within 5 years since 2018. Chile is currently one of four trade partners of Vietnam with a turnover of billions of USD in the Latin American region.

The two sides acknowledged each other's efforts in implementing the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Agreement with impressive growth figures demonstrating the great impact that the Agreement has brought to bilateral trade relations. Although it only includes commitments on goods, not on services and investment, the Vietnam - Chile FTA has created a boost for economic and trade relations between the two countries. In Vietnam, businesses are taking full advantage of the incentives of the Vietnam - Chile FTA and Chile is currently one of the leading markets in terms of preferential utilization rate with the rate of using C/O form VC.

Deputy Minister Claudia Sanhueza speaks at the meeting

In 2023, in the context of the global economy facing many challenges, bilateral trade turnover was significantly affected when it decreased by 27.2% compared to 2022, reaching only 1.57 billion USD. However, entering 2024, trade exchanges showed signs of recovery when in the first 5 months of the year it reached nearly 800 million USD, an increase of 8.5% over the same period last year. These are positive signals to believe that the picture of bilateral economic and trade cooperation will be more prosperous in the coming time.

Regarding the Subcommittee on Trade in Goods, the two sides exchanged technical contents on tariff schedules, origin of goods, and considered the possibility of implementing the application of electronic certificates of origin to simplify processes and procedures, creating favorable conditions for businesses of both sides in import and export activities to effectively take advantage of the incentives of the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Agreement.

Regarding the Food Safety and Animal and Plant Quarantine Subcommittee, the two sides exchanged information on the process and procedures for importing some agricultural products such as beef, pork, and kiwifruit from Chile. Accordingly, the two sides exchanged plans to inspect Chilean beef and pig farms in 2024 as well as the results of pest risk assessment for kiwifruit to take the next steps as soon as possible.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long and Deputy Minister Claudia Sanhueza highly appreciated the results of the discussions and agreements reached by the Subcommittees, and at the same time suggested that the two sides continue to proactively propose measures to resolve difficulties in implementing the Agreement and promote the implementation of commitments in the coming time.

At the end of the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long and Deputy Minister Claudia Sanhueza signed the Minutes of the 5th Meeting of the Vietnam - Chile Free Trade Council./.

In 2023, in the context of the world economic situation facing many difficulties and challenges, the total two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Chile only reached 1.57 billion USD, down 27.2% compared to 2022. Of which, Vietnam's exports reached 1.2 billion USD, down 30.7%, imports reached 375.16 million USD, down 13.2%. Entering 2024, two-way trade in the first 5 months of the year showed positive signs again when reaching 756.1 million USD, up 8.5%. Of which, exports to Chile reached 615.27 million USD, up 23%, imports from Chile reached 140.81 million USD, down 28% over the same period last year. Chile is currently one of Vietnam's four largest trading partners in Latin America (after Brazil, Mexico and Argentina).

Source: https://moit.gov.vn/tin-tuc/hoat-dong/hoat-dong-cua-lanh-dao-bo/phien-hop-lan-v-hoi-dong-thuong-mai-tu-do-viet-nam-chile.html