topic opportunities and challenges of evfta for seafood enterprises in vietnam

17 2.3.1 Import demand and the primary sources of seafood supply in Europe17 2.3.2 People's tastes and consumption trends before and after the COVID-19 2.4 IMPACT OF EVETA ON FISHERIES

Definition and levels of regional economic infegrafion ô 3

According to author Charles W L Hill's textbook "International Business - Competing in the Global Marketplace," regional economic integration is defined as agreements between countries in a geographic region to reduce, and eventually eliminate, tariff and non-tariff barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and production inputs Regional economic integration provides member governments with considerable economic benefits, such as enhanced market efficiency, and working closely together to promote peace, stability, and prosperity, as well as building a block to integrate with each other in the context of globalization Based on the information obtained, we know that regional economic integration is separated into five major stages, with a mutual inheritance link between them The levels of regional economic policy integration are shown in Table 1 below:

Forms of Intra- General Free General A economic regional trade Factor monetary government association free policy Shift and fiscal trade policy

Area Yes No No No No

Union Yes Yes No No No

Common market Yes Yes Yes No No

Union Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Union Table 1: Summary of levels of regional economic integration Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Source: El-Agraa, Ali M (1999), “Regional Integration: Experience, Theory and Measurement’, London, Macmilan Press The first level is concerned with preferential trade agreements, in which member countries simply remove tariff and service obstacles For example, the ASEAN-Korea agreement is a framework agreement on extensive economic cooperation Because Vietnam is also a member of ASEAN, Korea has committed to eliminating import taxes as promised in this agreement since 2010, and we currently have 90.9 percent of Vietnamese goods exporting to Korea enjoying a tax rate of 0%

The second level is known as the customs union; at this level, the parties to the agreement not only eliminate most trade, tariff, and non-tariff obstacles to each other, as they did in the first level but also share a single commercial strategy Community of the Andes (CAN) Is a customs union whose members include, among others, Bolivia,

Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru Although this arrangement complicates policy coordination among member countries, its strength is that it allows us to avoid complexities relating to rules of origin

Next, the third level is known as the common market; at this level, participating countries will enjoy the preferential policies of two levels, as well as the novel feature of allowing free movement of elements of production such as capital and labor According to my team, such a single market was established in Europe in 1957 under the Treaty of Rome (effective January 1, 1958) by countries such as the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, or the common market of East and South Africa in 1994

The fourth level is termed economic union, and it includes levels one through three, as well as the extra characteristic of member countries using the same currency, or having a similar monetary and fiscal policy The European Union (EU) has now been founded with the goal of boosting collaboration and connectivity among member nations in order to grow Europe into a world economic superpower

And the final level is called political alliance; this is a level that includes all of the levels mentioned above, as well as a government/administrative state that links the forces together to form a unified block to achieve common political goals such as education, culture, but there are no examples of this in reality at the moment

1.1.2 The benefits and limitations of regional economic integration

Regional economic integration or participation in accords provides significant benefits to that country First, it stimulates the economy by removing tariff barriers for the majority of participating countries’ exports, allowing firms to reduce costs and so improve competitiveness, people's living standards, and the country's prosperity Furthermore, it serves to strengthen the voice of the area (groups of member nations) since they can find an appropriate place in the new world order, thereby increasing their reputation, credibility, and development in the region and around the world

Although there are numerous benefits to participating in regional economic integration, there are also drawbacks Firstly, a country may be in difficulties if its partner country is in problems This is especially evident in the last two years of the COVID-19 outbreak, when Vietnam has faced many challenges because China is a large partner that helps us export a lot of commodities, but it is also the source of numerous epidemics The second disadvantage is that people's right to self-determination is under threat as a result of regional economic integration, which has increased the possibility of national identity and traditional culture being undermined and overrun by foreign cultures We surely remember the event that the UK officially left the EU after 45 years of attachment on November 13, 2018, because they believed that the EU had strict regulations, that many people took advantage of the EU to immigrate illegally permission, that the EU single currency isn't working, that their government is being overwhelmed, and that they don't want to survive annual contributions, which has huge consequences because Britain is one of the world's great powers

1.1.3 Governance implications for businesses (in general) in the framework of economic integration between regions

Regional economic integration provides businesses with more and more opportunities to expand their market; through the signing and implementation of trade agreements, participating countries can expand their export markets to partner countries, from which we can easily penetrate deeper into the global value chain bridge Next, it assists businesses in expanding the production value chain by allowing them to locate their company headquarters and processing factories in the agreement's partner countries, lowering the cost of transportation and production of goods, and especially allowing finished products to be brought to market quickly after being manufactured in the country where the head office is located

However, businesses should understand that the more opportunities there are the more challenges For example, when an enterprise in this country participates in investment and production in the partner country, there are still other businesses with similar goals, and it is clear that less developed countries will suffer more negative consequences Enterprises with the same product line, as well as clients from developed countries that benefit from more advanced manufacturing techniques, have steadily dominated the market The competition from partner countries can be seen as very large and is always a risk that we can see, which is why businesses must make efforts to improve their competitiveness as well as improve the quality of their products/services so that they can still develop sustainably regardless of who they rely on

1.2 Overview of the EVFTA Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union

1.2.1 General introduction about EVFTA Agreement

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is a new generation FTA between Vietnam and 28 EU member countries It is one of two agreements with the broadest breadth of commitments and the highest level of commitment from Vietnam The circumstances of this agreement are most likely when our country understands that many commodities imported and exported from Europe are subject to excessively high tax rates, resulting in considerable price increases, such as automobiles Tax rates in past years were as high as 70%, therefore the EVFTA is seen as a complete, high-quality deal that benefits both Vietnam and the EU

The EVFTA signing process can be divided into three key phases: the preparatory negotiating phase (from 2010 to 2017), the review and approval phase (from 2018 to

2019), and the current official period My team has concluded the following key milestones time in the signing procedure of this EVFTA agreement through the self- research process as follow: a) The preparatory negotiating phase (from 2010 to 2017):

The Prime Minister of Vietnam and the President of the European Union have agreed to begin discussions on the EVFTA Agreement in October 2010

In June 2012, Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade and the EU Trade Commissioner officially confirmed the commencement of negotiations for the EVFTA Agreement

Vietnam and the EU completed negotiations and began a legal assessment in December 2015 in preparation for the signing of the Agreement

In June 2017, the two parties concluded the technical legal evaluation

In September 2017, the EU officially requested that Vietnam divide the discussion material into two separate accords, namely the free trade agreement (EVFTA) and the investment protection agreement (IPA) b) The review and approval phase (from 2018 to 2019)

Vietnam and the EU have legally agreed to split the two distinct agreements, completing the whole legal review process of the EVFTA agreement and agreeing on all of the elements of the IPA agreement in June 2018

In August 2018, the IPA Agreement will have undergone a thorough legal assessment

On October 17, 2018, the European Commission formally approved the EVFTA and IPA

On June 25, 2019, the European Council approved the signing of the Agreement c) The current official period (2019 - now)

On June 8, 2020, the Vietnamese National Assembly ratified the EVFTA with 457/457 votes

On July 27, 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

The EVFTA Agreement will go into force on August 1, 2020

Essentially, the EVFTA agreement's content consists of 17 chapters, two protocols, and several memorandums of understanding, with the four main parts, mentioned being banking, insurance, telecommunications, and tax rates - this part being the most important because it has a significant impact on Vietnam's economy The agreement includes provisions for trade in goods, laws of origin, customs and trade sustainable development.

1.2.2 Trade cooperation relationship between EU and Vietnam

Governance implications for businesses (in general) in the framework

Regional economic integration provides businesses with more and more opportunities to expand their market; through the signing and implementation of trade agreements, participating countries can expand their export markets to partner countries, from which we can easily penetrate deeper into the global value chain bridge Next, it assists businesses in expanding the production value chain by allowing them to locate their company headquarters and processing factories in the agreement's partner countries, lowering the cost of transportation and production of goods, and especially allowing finished products to be brought to market quickly after being manufactured in the country where the head office is located

However, businesses should understand that the more opportunities there are the more challenges For example, when an enterprise in this country participates in investment and production in the partner country, there are still other businesses with similar goals, and it is clear that less developed countries will suffer more negative consequences Enterprises with the same product line, as well as clients from developed countries that benefit from more advanced manufacturing techniques, have steadily dominated the market The competition from partner countries can be seen as very large and is always a risk that we can see, which is why businesses must make efforts to improve their competitiveness as well as improve the quality of their products/services so that they can still develop sustainably regardless of who they rely on.

OVERVIEW OF THE EVFTA AGREEMENT BETWEEN VIETNAM AND THE

General introduction about EVFTA Agreement 6