Vietnam is the top destination for Canadian goods among ASEAN countries

The workshop with the theme "Leveraging FTAs to enter ASEAN: Industrial and technological opportunities for Canadian businesses in Vietnam" recently took place in British Columbia (BC). The event was organized by the Trade Office and the Science and Technology Office (KHCN) of the Embassy of Vietnam in Canada in collaboration with the BC Ministry of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation and the Canada-ASEAN Business Council.

BC Trade Minister Jagrup Brar delivers opening remarks. Photo: Tin Tuc Newspaper

Speaking at the conference, BC Trade Minister Jagrup Brar said it was important for Canada to strengthen its ties with global partners like Vietnam. Vietnam is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is the leading destination for Canadian goods and services among ASEAN countries. With an average economic growth rate of 7% over the past 30 years, Vietnam serves as a gateway for Canadian businesses looking to access the ASEAN market of 660 million customers. Trade relations between Vietnam and BC have begun to regain momentum, with a growth rate of 63% last year. BC is also the top destination for Vietnamese businesses, with 6 projects worth more than CAD 300 million (USD 219 million).

Workshop “Taking advantage of FTAs to enter ASEAN: Industrial and technological opportunities for Canadian businesses in Vietnam”. Photo: VNA

According to Minister Jagrup Brar, Vietnam is being evaluated as a gateway for Canadian businesses wanting to access this market of 660 million customers. Trade relations between Vietnam and British Columbia have begun to regain momentum, with a growth rate of 63% in 2022. In addition, British Columbia is also the most popular destination for Vietnamese businesses, with 6 projects worth more than 300 million CAD (219.48 million USD).

British Columbia’s forestry sector is benefiting from its relationship with Vietnam through the CPTPP, with softwood lumber exports increasing by nearly 60% over the past five years. Minister Jagrup Brar said he expects that industrial and technological cooperation opportunities for Canadian businesses in Vietnam will increase, contributing to promoting bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Meanwhile, reviewing the five-year implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the new context of the Indo- Pacific Strategy and moving towards the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Vietnamese Consul General in British Columbia Nguyen Quang Trung commented that the CPTPP market, with a trade bloc representing 500 million people and a GDP of about CAD 13,500 billion, has brought new opportunities for economic, trade and investment relations between the two sides. As members of this Agreement, investors and exporters from both Vietnam and Canada are benefiting from open market access and a reduced tariff environment as prescribed.

Ms. Tran Thu Quynh - Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Vietnam in Canada said that British Columbia and Vietnam have great potential for cooperation in the industrial sector, especially in the fields of foundational and advanced industries in which both sides have strengths such as: Clean energy, electric vehicles, automobile industry, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.

Not only that, British Columbia is a place with strengths in agriculture, forestry and essential minerals. This is a premise for the two sides to cooperate to exploit the combined origin and from there export to the CPTPP market or the market where Canada and ASEAN have FTA.

Commenting on the potential, investment cooperation, science transfer as well as opportunities for trade connection between businesses of the two countries, Mr. Hoang Ngoc Dinh - Chief Representative of Vietnam Science and Technology in Canada - also said that new technologies such as renewable energy, semiconductor technology, mining and processing of essential metals or carbon capture... are areas that Vietnam is in great demand for and Canada can meet.

These sectors not only help Canadian investors take advantage of the Vietnamese market but also make the most of the Canadian Government's support policies such as the Climate Fund or the Just Energy Transition Partnership Program...

Vietnam is emerging as an attractive and potential destination for investors and science and technology enterprises, especially after the event of Vietnam and the US upgrading their relationship to the level of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This is considered an opportunity for partners of both Canada and Vietnam to promote cooperation, take advantage of and exploit potential to soon become reliable and strategic partners in the fields of science and technology in the future.

For his part, Vietnamese Consul General in BC, Nguyen Quang Trung, assessed that as members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), investors and exporters from both Vietnam and Canada are benefiting from open market access and a reduced tariff environment as prescribed./.

Thu Hang