Quy Nhơn Port in Bình Định Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

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BÌNH ĐỊNH — The new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the UK-Việt Nam FTA, have opened up many opportunities for Bình Định Province's exports, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

According to the department, 20 local firms are exporting to countries which have participated in the UKVFTA. Last year, they generated US$47.2 million from shipping eight groups of products to these markets, with wood products being the leading export earner.

Deputy director of the department Võ Mai Hưng said the new-generation FTAs like the UKVFTA not only opened up opportunities for Bình Định to promote trade relations with developed economies, but also made an important contribution to accelerating the province's administrative reform, improving its trade and investment climate.

Through a transparent and equal mechanism, local businesses would grasp guidelines and policies, then have many opportunities to access information to facilitate their export activities, he said.

They would also benefit from tariff elimination under the deals.

Under the UKVFTA, for example, 65 per cent of all tariffs have already been eliminated from UK-Việt Nam trade. In the first six years of the deal, the UK would eliminate 99.2 per cent of tariff lines on Việt Nam’s imports.

In particular, 83 per cent of tariffs imposed on Vietnamese wood and wood products exported to the UK - which are Bình Định's key export items - have also been eliminated. For all other products, including particle boards, fiber boards and plywood, tariffs will be eliminated after two to four years.

In order to help local firms further tap into the UK market, Hưng said, his department would continue to accelerate trade promotion, connect goods supply chains and support the firms to advertise their goods to expand their presence in the market.

Top priority would also be given to improving the competitiveness of local enterprises and export products and disseminating the UKVFTA and markets of the FTA members so that businesses in the province could utilise opportunities brought by the FTA.

Meanwhile, local businesses should continue to ensure the quality of their export products, foster technological innovation to improve the competitiveness of their goods for exports in addition to promoting the application of cross-border e-commerce and joining the world e-commerce floors, he said.

Over the past five months of this year, Bình Định earned over $700 million from exporting goods to 105 countries and territories. During the period, its export to the UK hit $30.4 million or accounting for 4.3 per cent of total turnover, statistics from the department revealed. — VNS