HÀ NỘI  — Việt Nam’s new import tariff, part of the Việt Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) for 2016-19, has come into force.

Decree No 125/2016/NĐ-CP, which was issued on September 1 and came into effect the same day, states that the tariff is to be applied for goods directly transported from Japan into Việt Nam.

Accordingly, the duty for lip and eye make-up products of Japanese exporters will fall from 11 per cent to 4 per cent by the end of March 2019.

The duty will decline from 4-7 per cent to 1-3 per cent for shampoo and from 8-15 per cent to 3-11 per cent for toothpaste.

Tax rates for clothes and accessories for children will be cut from 5.5 per cent to 2 per cent and the rates for blanket, bedspreads and table covers will decline to 1 per cent from 3 per cent.

Several goods such as vitamin, weed killers and emergency aid toolkits will continue to enjoy a zero per cent import tax rate.

Special treatment is also given to Việt Nam, in case goods listed under the tariff are imported from non-tariff zones into the domestic market.

Goods must also meet origin regulations, as stated in the agreement, and exporters are to have certificates of origin, in a form stipulated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

VJEPA was the first bilateral free trade agreement that Việt Nam entered into after the country joined the World Trade Organisation in January 2007.

The agreement covers comprehensive contents, including trade in goods and services, investment and improvement of the business environment.

When VJEPA came into effect in October 2009, Việt Nam committed to eliminate some 90.6 per cent of tariff lines for Japan within 16 years, while Japan pledged to eliminate some 94 per cent of tariff lines for Việt Nam within 10 years.

Kyohei Takahashi, president of the Japan-Việt Nam Economic Committee, said while its working group met Việt Nam’s senior leaders in Hà Nội late last month that trade between the two countries had quadrupled since the agreement came into effect.

Among ASEAN member countries, Japan had poured the largest amount of investment into Việt Nam, he added.

Earlier this year, a survey conducted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, showed that Việt Nam topped the list of countries where Japanese firms intend to invest in the next five to 10 years.

Decrees carrying new tariffs for several other trade deals, including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and an agreement between Việt Nam and Laos, have also come into force this month.

New tariffs for ASEAN-India, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand, ASEAN-China and ASEAN-South Korea trade deals are also available. — VNS