A senior EU trade official says that Vietnam will meet all the five criteria for the world’s largest trading bloc to recognise the country as having a market economy by 2018.
Stefan Depypere, Director of Trade Defence under the European Commission Directorate-General for Trade, stated this at a press briefing in Hanoi on September 24 at the end of his visit to Vietnam .
He said he saw the progress made by Vietnam ’s ministries and industries on the criteria for a market economy.
The EC trade representative also made public the positive outcomes of the ninth round of negotiations and said that Vietnam and the EU would sign a new partnership and cooperation agreement during a summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) due to take place in Belgium , in October.
In regard to the EU’s anti-dumping tariffs on Vietnam ’s leather shoes, which will expire in March, 2011, Depypere said that the EU’s next decision will largely depend on developments and the health of the footwear manufacturing industry in Europe .
He added however, that he felt positive after Vietnam ’s bicycles can now be exported to Europe once more.
During his stay in Vietnam , Depypere met with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance, where both parties focused on research on the current accounting system in three major fields, from macro-economic policy to legal frameworks and progress in implementation by businesses.
EU and Vietnamese agencies have reached a consensus on conducting joint research with independent experts, to consider and scrutinise the Vietnamese economy to try and establish the country’s market economy status, said Depypere.
They will compare the outcomes of research with statistics released by prestigious international economic and financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund before reaching a final conclusion, which should be an advantage for the Vietnamese economy, concluded the EU expert.
In February, 2010, the EC recognised Vietnam ’s achievements in meeting the first of five criteria needed to be recognised as a market economy, namely the Government’s allocation of human resources and business decisions, both direct or indirect./.