The implementation of the UKVFTA Agreement has brought impressive growth to two-way trade between Vietnam and the UK in 2021 and is continuing to show a positive recovery in the post-Covid-19 period.
On June 23, the Ministry of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Embassy of the United Kingdom and the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam to organize a seminar “Taking the UK market potential, taking advantage of UKVFTA”. The workshop was organized to exploit and make good use of opportunities brought from the UKVFTA Agreement and continue to promote trade growth with the UK by supporting Vietnamese businesses to join the production chain. and supply by British companies.
Two-way trade recovers positively after the pandemic
Along with the UKVFTA Free Trade Agreement coming into effect, Vietnam – UK trade turnover in 2021 recorded an impressive growth despite the Covid-19 pandemic. According to data of Vietnam Customs, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK in 2021 will reach 6.6 billion USD, up 17.2% compared to 2020. In which, Vietnam’s exports will reach 6.6 billion USD. nearly 5.8 billion USD, up 16.4%, UK exports reached 849 million USD, up 23.6%.
In the first 5 months of 2022, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the complicated geopolitical situation in the world leading to disruptions in the global production and supply chains, the two-way trade The afternoon of Vietnam – UK reached 2.68 billion USD, equivalent to the turnover in the same period of 2021.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Chris Milliken – Vice President of the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (BritCham) affirmed the increasingly close relationship between Vietnam and the UK. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries is gradually showing positive signs of recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the clearest proof of the benefits that UKVFTA brings to the economic and trade development of Vietnam – UK. Mr. Chris Milliken believes that trade-investment cooperation between the two countries will go further because the structure of the two countries’ import-export industries is complementary instead of competitive.
Mr. Chris Milliken said that many British investors and businesses turned their attention to emerging economies with stable and sustainable growth, including Vietnam. In particular, Mr. Chris Milliken highly appreciated Vietnam’s commitment to bring net emissions to zero by 2050 at COP26.
To accomplish this goal, he assessed that Vietnam is currently quite open to receiving technological solutions to help build its renewable energy platform. This is again an area that the UK has focused on developing in recent years, with many strengths. In Vietnam, leading in cooperation in this field are major British energy enterprises such as Shire Oak International Group with many solar power projects in Vietnam, Enterprise Energy Group is investing in projects. Thang Long wind offshore Ke Ga cape – Binh Thuan, Main Stream Group is investing in wind power project Phu Cuong (Soc Trang), ..
Ms. Truong Thi Chi Binh, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Supporting Industry Enterprises also mentioned that many products in the processing and manufacturing industry are experiencing high growth in exports to the UK and are still lots of room for growth in the near future such as power cables, office machine spare parts, mechanical components for furniture, etc.
