India has required Vietnamese enterprises to have import licences for local incense products exported to India. —Photo baodautu.vn

NEW DELHI — Việt Nam proposes India remove trade remedies and restrictions for Vietnamese products exported to this market, an official of Việt Nam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said at an online conference on Việt Nam and India trade and investment promotion held on June 17.

Đỗ Quốc Hưng, deputy director of the ministry’s Asia-Africa Market Department said that India currently applied trade remedies to Vietnamese products such as galvanised steel, copper tubes, stainless steel, digital print frames and plywood. It also had restriction measures such as floor prices for Vietnamese pepper and cashews and import licences for Vietnamese incense products.

This conference was organised by the Việt Nam Trade Office and Vietnamese Embassy in India in collaboration with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (FICCI), Việt Nam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment and the HCM City Trade and Investment Promotion Centre, reported the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in New Delhi.

This event was a good opportunity for Vietnamese and Indian businesses to grasp trade and investment policies, trends and needs of each country as well as seek investment and business partners.

In addition, participants at this conference discussed measures to promote further investment and trade activities between Việt Nam and India in the future, especially the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.

Speaking at the conference, Hưng affirmed that MoIT had been working closely with the Indian Embassy in Việt Nam, the Vietnamese Embassy in India and the authorities of the two countries to support businesses of the two countries in solving difficulties in investment and business, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Việt Nam had committed to reducing trade barriers for goods to avoid negative impacts on trade activities in all sectors, he said.

Việt Nam has participated in 16 free trade agreements in the region and the world, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

These agreements bring investment and business opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to expand their markets, but also for Indian businesses to strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese partners entering local and regional markets.

Lê Thị Hải Vân, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Department, Ministry of Planning and Investment, said at the conference that in the future, to promote investment and development cooperation, the two countries would need promotion activities to introduce their investment environment to regional businesses.

They should also hold trade promotion activities for businesses of the two countries to enhance bilateral business cooperation.

As of May 2020, India has 275 investment projects with a total capital of nearly US$900 million. However, according to Vân, this figure is still lower than the potential of the two countries. — VNS