The workshop stressed the importance for businesses to pay attention to origin regulations if they want to make full use of the agreement’s tariff incentives.

Businesses will also face many difficulties as the CPTPP contains tough requirements on transparency, regulations on protection of intellectual property, and management of dispute settlements.

The reduction of import duties will also challenge small- and medium-sized enterprises, especially those in the agricultural sector.

Businesses were asked to thoroughly prepare themselves and anticipate new challenges.

Phan Duc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said that stepping up institutional reform, creating a favourable business environment, treating enterprises equally, and reducing administrative costs will help improve the competitiveness of domestic products.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Linh said that State management agencies and local businesses should learn about commitments between Vietnam and CPTPP members in order to make necessary preparations.

The agreement is a chance to boost economic growth in Bac Giang’s key export commodities, thus helping the province achieve its socio-economic development goals, he added.

The CPTPP was signed on March 9 with 11 signatories. The agreement is expected to help nearly 1 million Vietnamese people escape from poverty.

The pact will create one of the world’s largest free trade blocs with a combined market of 499 million people and GDP of around US$10.1 trillion, accounting for 13.5% of the global GDP.

Source: vov.vn