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The Ministry of Industry and Trade issues Circular No. 30/2020/TT-BCT guiding the implementation of the European Union-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) regarding trade remedies.

The Circular covers regulations on anti-dumping measures, anti-subsidy measures and safeguard measures.

The regulations set forth in the Circular shall applicable to goods originating within the EU member states, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and principality of Andorra and the Republic of San Marino.

Bilateral safeguard measures

Investigation and application of bilateral safeguard measures shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on Foreign Trade Management and Decree No. 10/2018/ND-CP.

A bilateral safeguard measure shall not be applied beyond the transition period.

The Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide to apply a bilateral safeguard measure when the investigation conclusion by the investigating agency contains the following contents:

-There is an increase in the absolute or relative import of the imported goods entitled to special preferential import tax rates under the Agreement in comparison to the volume and quantity of the similar goods and directly competing goods that are produced domestically.

-The domestic industry suffers serious damage or is threatened with serious damage.

The applied bilateral safeguard measure includes:

- Suspension of further reduction of import tax rates in accordance with the Agreement

- Increase the import duty rate on such goods but not exceeding the preferential import duty rates in effect at the time of application of this measure or the base import tax rate specified in the tariffs.

The maximum duration for application of the bilateral safeguard measure is two years.

In case the investigating agency concludes that a bilateral safeguard measure must be further applied to prevent or remedy serious damage and facilitate adjustment by the domestic industry, such measure may be extended for up to two years.

The Circular has taken effect on January 11, 2021.

The EVFTA took effect on August 1, 2020 paving the way for increased trade between the EU and Viet Nam.

The EVFTA is an ambitious pact providing almost 99% of the elimination of custom duties between the EU and Viet Nam.

According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the FTA is expected to help increase Viet Nam’s GDP by 4.6% and its exports to the EU by 42.7% by 2025.

65% of duties on EU exports to Viet Nam will be eliminated while the remaining will be gradually phased out over a period of 10 years. 71% of duties will be eliminated on Viet Nam exports to the EU, with the remaining being eliminated over a period of seven years.

The trade value between Viet Nam and the EU hit US$49.3 billion in 2020. Viet Nam’s exports to the EU reached US$34.8 billion, a decrease of 2.7% against the previous year while imports from the EU picked up 3.5%, achieving US$14.5 billion, according to the General Statistics Office.

(Source:VGP)