AsemconnectVietnam - The UK is currently one of Vietnam's most important trading partners.

According to the statistics figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in 2023, the total bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK reached 7.14 billion USD, an increase of 4.47% over the same period in 2022. Of which, the export turnover reached 6.34 billion USD, an increase of 4.64% compared to 2022, while the import turnover reached 795.54 million USD, an increase of 3.16%.
This is considered a quite positive result in the context that the UK economy in 2023 was estimated to grow by only 0.1%. This was the weakest growth since 2009.
In the first month of 2024, Vietnam's export activities to the UK market continued to record positive signs
According to the statistics figures from the General Department of Customs, the export turnover of Vietnamese goods to the UK market in January of 2024 reached 780.4 million USD, an increase of 43.9% compared to the previous month and an increase of 57.1 million USD. % compared to the same period of 2023.
Vietnam's main export products to the UK in January of 2024
The leading product in export turnover in January of 2024 was the group of all kinds of phones and components, reaching more than 225.8 million USD, up by 555.2% over the previous month and up by 15% over the same period last year, accounting for 28.9% of the total exports.
The next was the group of other machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts, reaching 151.7 million USD, accounting for 19.4% of the export proportion. And then was footwear of all kinds, reaching 86.6 million USD, accounting for 11.1% of the proportion.
Advantages and challenges in promoting Vietnam's export of goods to the UK
After more than 2 years of implementing the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UKVFTA), the British market has seen more positively the image of Vietnamese businesses and Vietnamese products through the fact that the amount of goods imported from Vietnam increased sharply.
However, the promotion of the exports of Vietnamese goods to the UK is currently facing many challenges. Accordingly, from January 1, 2023, the UK compulsorily applied the standard certification mark according to its own standards, called the UKCA mark, for most industrial products imported into the UK, replacing the CE mark, which was previously used in the EU market, is something that Vietnamese businesses are familiar with. The UKCA trademark involves four subjects: manufacturers, product marketers, importers and distributors. With this regulation, if Vietnamese export products are not certified to comply with UKCA standards, they will be refused acceptance by British product marketers, importers and distributors.
In addition, from May 31, 2023, the UK's Trade Agreement with Australia and New Zealand officially took effect, so the imports and exports of goods will be given preferential treatment or tariff exemption. In addition, the UK also announced the Developing Countries Trade Program (DCTS) to replace the Generalized Program of Preferences (GSP) from June 19, 2023. DCTS is one of the most open preferential programs in the world, providing duty-free, quota-free trade to least developed countries on everything except weapons. Therefore, Vietnamese goods exported to the UK market are expected to face greater competitive pressure.
Measures to support Vietnam's trade promotion in the UK market
In the context of the global economic and political situation with many unpredictable fluctuations, while Vietnamese goods are having difficultíe competing with many major competitors in the world, management agencies have stepped up their efforts in connecting and promoting trade into the UK market.
In 2023, with the support of the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK, 5 Vietnamese businesses have attended the Specialty and Fine Food Fair 2023, taking place at the Olympia Exhibition Center in London. Here, businesses introduced specialty food and beverage products, gradually approaching consumers in this potential market.
With the aim of supporting businesses to exploit, access the market and find more new partners in the UK, the Department of Trade Promotion (Ministry of Industry and Trade) has coordinated with the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK to organize Organize many trade delegations to attend the Fair and other side activities. In recent years, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has promoted communication work by coordinating with parties to release many products to introduce and promote key commodity industries, typically pepper, coconut, etc. Through important trade promotion activities, consumers in the UK market in particular and many other markets in general have learned more about Vietnam's quality and highly competitive products.
For the effective exploitation of the UKVFTA Agreement, the Vietnam Trade Office in the UK has been promoting the building of linkage and cooperation networks between the UK business community and Vietnamese businesses here. At the same time, businesses should also focus more on providing information about product quality standards and import regulations into the UK for Vietnamese businesses.
Currently, the UK is always in the list of the 5 largest import markets in the world, with an attractive level of commitment, along with bilateral FTAs that will create conditions for Vietnamese exports to access the market with reasonable regulations. Annual import turnover is up to 900 billion pounds. On July 16, 2023, the UK officially signed an agreement to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP Agreement). The UK is the first European country and the first new member since the CPTPP was established.
With the UK joining as a member, CPTPP will have a total GDP worth 12,000 billion pounds and account for 15% of total global GDP. Together with UKVFTA, this will be an important driving force to promote economic - trade - investment relations between Vietnam and the UK to continue to develop strongly in 2024 and the following years.
CK
Source: VITIC