Trade Agreements

Vietnam became the 150th member of the WTO in 2007, and upon its accession promised to fully comply with WTO agreements on Customs Valuation, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). The United States and Vietnam concluded a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in 2000, which entered into force in 2001.

Vietnam is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and subsequently, a member of ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). As part of AFTA, ASEAN members (including Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia) are committed to making this region a competitive trading area. Together with the ASEAN countries, Vietnam has also signed trade pacts with PRC, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, India, Chile, and Japan. Vietnam has bilateral free trade agreements with Chile, Cuba, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, and Israel, as well as regional trade agreements with the European Union and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. Vietnam is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland).

In addition, Vietnam signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific (CPTPP) with 10 countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Singapore. The agreement officially took effect from January 14, 2019, for Vietnam. Since 2022 Vietnam is also a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, the PRC, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.