The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the most ambitious free trade agreement the EU concluded with a developing country, will remove nearly 99% of tariffs on goods from both sides. Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described the agreement signing as “building an expressway to the West” to connect the Vietnamese economy with the world’s leading economic and technological center. Currently, the European market accounts for 20% of Vietnam’s total export revenue and the figure is expected to double or even triple, according to Mr. Loc.

 “The European market is supplementary, supportive, and non-competitive against us. It is a good market for Vietnam to increase its exported products’ added value. Vietnam will attract more European investors, who acquire source technology and abundant finance. So we hope the quality of investment into Vietnam will improve as Vietnam is restructuring its foreign investment towards higher added value and environmentally-friendly technology,” Mr.  Loc said.