Seminar on CEPT/AFTA for businesses
Ha Noi, Aug. 10 (VNA) -- Representatives from 120 local and foreign businesses, joint ventures, and export-processing zones attended a seminar on the Common Effect Preferential Tariff, CEPT, scheme for ASEAN Free Trade Area, AFTA, in Ha Noi on Aug. 10.
The seminar, organised by the Trade Ministry in collaboration with the ASEAN-Japan Centre for Trade, Investment, and Tourism Promotion, aimed to provide the business circles with up-to-date information on CEPT, including Viet Nam's CEPT product list, their tariff reduction schedule, and their regulations regarding the origin of goods and relevant customs procedures. The participants were also briefed on the Government policies to implement CEPT/AFTA requirements in the coming time.
The CEFT/AFTA is a major and comprehensive economic cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN.
Since Viet Nam began implementing CEPT/AFTA in 1996, trade value between the country and other ASEAN members has increased markedly. Two-way trade between Viet Nam and ASEAN was registered at more than USD 7 billion in 2000, or a two-fold increase compared to the figure recorded in 1995. The amount made up 23.7 percent of Viet Nam's import-export value last year. In the first six months of this year, Viet Nam earned USD 1.4 billion from shipping goods to another ASEAN members, accounting for almost 18 percent of the country's total export value.
Viet Nam will remove all trade barriers to other ASEAN member countries in 2006.--VNA
