(VOVworld) – Vietnam looks set to become the biggest beneficiary of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal out of the four Southeast Asian participants, the other three being Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.

(Photo: VNA)

David Robinson, Principle of the Financial Times ASEAN Confidential Research, said garments and footwear are Vietnam’s major export items, thus will benefit the  most as the TPP is ratified. According to the World Trade Organization, at present, US import tariffs on Vietnamese-made footwear can be as high as 48 per cent, while certain items of clothing can face tariffs of 20 per cent. The TPP will cut these tariffs to zero or close to zero, depending on the goods. This promises to double the market share for Vietnam’s apparel and footwear in the US market, which is estimated to increase 30 percent by 2020.