December 01, 2003

Vietnam To Slash Tariffs On Farm Produce & Seafood Exports To China
 

Vietnam will slash tariffs imposed on nearly all farm produce and seafood for export to China from 2004 onwards, according to the Vietnam's Finance Ministry on November 27.

Under a tariff reduction list compiled by the ministry, Vietnamese goods exported to China with current tax rates of over 30-45% will bear a new rate of 20%, and those with tariffs of 15-30% are to enjoy a new rate of 10% with effect from January 2004.

By 2008, Vietnam will lower tariffs imposed on 484 exports to China to zero percent to fulfil its full commitment to the Early Harvest Program (EHP), part of an agreement on comprehensive economic cooperation between China and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The ministry predicted that the EHP, once functional, would boost local exports to China. In 2001, Vietnam earned US$455.6 million from exporting farm produce and seafood listed on the EHP, accounting for 32% of the country's total export revenues to China.

Under the agreement signed in Cambodia in 2002 by China, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, the seven countries have pledged to slash tariffs from January 1 2004 and finish the process by 2006.

Vietnam will begin the process in 2004, and complete it in 2008. Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar are to join the process in 2006.