According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam exported 45.8 billion USD worth of goods to the EU in 2021, up 14% year on year, while importing 17.9 billion USD worth of products from the market, a rise of 16.5%.

The ministry attributed the results to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect more than one year ago. Notably, the export revenue of products using the EUR.1 certificate of origin (C/O) reached about 7.8 billion USD, which showed Vietnamese firms’ greater attention to optimising incentives from the deal. The EVFTA is a bilateral commitment with incentives and long-lasting value.

At present, 20% of local enterprises have taken export tax incentives from the EVFTA with the EUR.1 certificate of origin (C/O). For shipments to the EU worth less than EUR6,000, local enterprises are allowed to self-certify origin. This helps ensure smaller businesses do not have to spend time applying C/O, while still being able to enjoy tax incentives.