Workshop “Promoting export potential and improving capacity to respond to trade defense cases in Asian, African and Oceanian markets” in Hanoi

Following a series of events to improve capacity to respond to trade defense cases in Asian, African and Oceanian markets, on November 12, in Hanoi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang chaired the Workshop “Promoting export potential and improving capacity to respond to trade defense cases in Asian, African and Oceanian markets”. Attending the Workshop were about 100 delegates from the Hanoi People's Committee, representatives of ministries, branches, Departments of Industry and Trade, universities, enterprises and Associations.

Overview of the Workshop on Promoting Export Potential and Enhancing the Capacity to Respond to Trade Defense Cases in Asia, Africa and Oceania Markets in Hanoi

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang delivered the opening speech of the Workshop

In recent years, Vietnam has paid special attention to strengthening economic cooperation with countries in Asia, Africa and Oceania to boost exports in this potential region. Specifically, Vietnam has taken advantage of cooperation opportunities from bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with individual partners such as Vietnam - Japan, Vietnam - Korea, as well as multilateral FTAs ​​through regional organizations such as ASEAN or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Although Vietnam's exports to these markets have improved in recent times and there is still a lot of room for market expansion, there are still many difficulties and limitations awaiting our businesses. One of the biggest challenges is the protectionist viewpoint, creating barriers for countries and territories importing Vietnamese goods. Besides the positive aspects of trade liberalization and the process of international economic integration, there are still protectionist trends, which are becoming more and more popular.

Among those protectionist measures, trade defense has emerged as one of the legal and effective tools used by many WTO members. According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, up to 14/24 countries in the Asian, African and Oceanian market groups have investigated 145/268 different trade defense cases against Vietnamese export goods. The countries with the most investigations are India, Türkiye, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines... In ASEAN alone, the four countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand have investigated 52 trade defense cases against our goods. In Oceania, Australia has also investigated 19 cases against Vietnam.

"Through the Workshop, we will better understand and share more responsibility in minimizing the negative impacts of trade defense measures and import restrictions on our goods. Thereby, we have the right to expect sustainable development and growth of Vietnam's export goods in the future." - Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang expected.

Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department, Mr. To Ngoc Son presented at the Workshop

At the workshop, Mr. To Ngoc Son, Deputy Director of the Asia-Africa Market Department, shared a lot of important information about the Asian, African and Oceanian markets such as regional and market overview, import-export proportion, important import-export partners of Vietnam; market demand and key products that need to continue to exploit export potential. Mr. Son also analyzed in detail the opportunities and risks when trading with these markets, and at the same time made many valuable recommendations to boost exports, promote product branding, enhance trade promotion, trends, consumer tastes... to help businesses and industries have an overview and effective development orientation.

At the workshop, Ms. Truong Thuy Linh, Deputy Director of the Department of Trade Remedies, discussed the situation of investigation, application and experience in responding to trade remedies of Asian, African and Oceanian market countries with Vietnam and some recommendations for local state management agencies, enterprises and associations - as stakeholders in trade remedies cases. Specifically, Ms. Linh provided detailed data describing the situation of investigation and application of trade remedies measures from many different perspectives such as the type of case, investigated products, countries that regularly investigate Vietnam's export goods...; analyzed the causes and nature of investigation and application of trade remedies measures; specific activities carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to manage the macro as well as support enterprises and industries to effectively handle specific trade remedies cases, the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders contributing to positively impacting the results of trade remedies cases. Ms. Linh also made detailed recommendations for each relevant subject such as central and local state management agencies, associations, and businesses directly involved in violations