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Vietnamese Businesses Position in TPP NegotiationsVietnamese Businesses

Position in TPP Negotiations

Dr. NGUYEN Thi Thu TrangWTO Center

Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)

Structure of the Presentation

Recommendation of Vietnamese

Businesses on TPP Negotiations1

Faith, Hopes and Worries22

Trade in Goods: Exports Benefits

and Rules of Origin - NME Status3

General Trade: Equality and Special

/Different treatments4

2

Vietnam Business Recommendations

Prepared by International Trade Policies Advisory Committee – VCCI

Agreed and undersigned by 22 Business Associations who speak the voice of more than 24,000 individual companies

Mentioning positions on different issues:

• Market access

• Market open

• Fragile domestic groups with more protection needed

• Related issues (labor, environment, trade remedies, SPS, TBT, IP, GP)

3

Vietnam Business Recommendations

4

Vietnam Business RecommendationsList of Vietnam Business Associations agreed and undersigned to

Vietnam Business Recommendations for TPP Negotiation

STT Organization Members

1 Vietnam Leather & Footwear Association 143

2 Vietnam Electro-technical Industry Association 76

3 Vietnam Electronic Industries Association 145

4 Vietnam Banks Association 55

5 Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association 94

6 Vietnam Rubber Association 128

7 Vietnam Engineering Consultant Association 200

8 Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises 300

5

8 Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises 300

9 Vietnam Sugar Association 38

10 Vietnam Titan Association 50

11 Vietnam Auto Motorcycle Bicycle Association 141

12 Vietnam Association of Accountants and Auditors 192

13 Vietnam Association for Building Materials

14 Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association 365

15 Vietnam Steel Association 100

16 Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association 106

17 Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association 95

18 Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association 400

19 Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Association*

20 Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises 20000

21 Hatinh Small and Medium Enterprises Association 1474

22 Phutho Small and Medium Enterprises Association 150

* Vietnam Federation of Civil Engineering Association contain 12 Professional Associations, 44 Province Associations, 40 collective member

Associations - Each members represent tens/ hundreds of enterprises.

Overall Position

/ that TPP will help bring new opportunity

for Vietnamese exports through tariff elimination;

/that TPP will help enhancing competitiveness

for Vietnamese companies by new chance of

cooperation, reasonable pressure and better

business-supporting services;

/that TPP will help bring in new and better FDIs

Very optimist/Very optimist/Very optimist/Very optimist/

6

Overall Position

With fair

concerns on:

How to dilute

factors that

could nullify

potential

benefits

How to give

enough

support to

fragile

domestic

groups

How to cope

with stronger

competitors

from TPP

members

7

Faith, Hope and Worries

Hope

Worries

Faith

that TPP will

that Vietnam

could export

� Any factor that

could nullify

such potential

benefits

Trade in Goods

that TPP will

eliminate high

tariffs for

Vietnamese

exports

could export

more, and thus

ameliorate the

condition of life

of millions of

Vietnam labors

benefits

(ROOs)

� Any issue that

could place

such exports

in risks (NME)

8

Faith, Hope and Worries

Trade in Goods

Any thought of refusing such crucial benefits to

Rules of origin (ROOs) Negotiations

Should enable Vietnam to make benefit from TPP tariff elimination

(at least better than status-quo)

Should be as much simple as possible

(free trade v. barrier in any form, including ROO requirements)

such crucial benefits to Vietnam for fear of certain potential benefits leaked to a third country is unreasonable

(TPP member interests should prevails, in any case)

9

Faith, Hope and Worries

Trade in Goods

All but the US in TPP recognized Vietnam as market economy

Unreasonable that a Member of a 21st century FTA is not recognized by partner as market economy

Ma

rke

t E

co

no

my (

NM

E)

recognized by partner as market economy

Bias to consider Vietnam economy today with that 20-30 years ago

The fact that Vietnam export has certain competitiveness in price is nothing to do with Government control or subsidy

No

n-M

ark

et

Ec

on

om

y (

NM

E)

10

Faith, Hope and Worries

Faith that free trade should and must bring in benefits to all, especially fragile ones

Hope that all Vietnamese people could have better life with TPP

General Trade

•TPP partners with different level of development and competitiveness

>> The weak (because of their lower starting-point) may lost in the game

•Some might unreasonably take Equal trade for Even commitments

•Fragile groups are more fragile in developing countries

•Developing countries are more fragile than developed ones

Worries as to the fact:

11

Faith, Hope and Worries

Never mean 2-tier

Might be introduced into TPP in 2 ways:

• SDT Clauses

Special and different treatmentsGeneral Trade

A WTO principle

A recognized principle in many international issues (trade and non-trade)

Never mean 2-tier TPP

• SDT Clauses

• Special treatment in commitment levels

12

Faith, Hopes and Worries

Agricultural products

Priority Trade

General Trade

Products relating to huge number of labors (especially female labors)

Sectors that might crucially impact the whole economy

Reasonable

protection for

fragile groups

13

And thus…

WE strongly SUPPORT the TPP but with keen INSISTENCE on, among other things:

Simple and beneficial ROOs for Vietnam

Market Economy

Recognition for Vietnam

Existence of Special and

Different Treatments for

Vietnam

14

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Nguyen Thi Thu Trang

WTO Center – Legal Department

Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Email: trangnt@vcci.com.vn

Websites: www.wtocenter.vn; www.antidumping.vn