(Haiphong.gov.vn) – On the morning of November 8, the city's Department of Industry and Trade coordinated with the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy - Ministry of Industry and Trade to organize the Workshop "Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and export opportunities for businesses".

Attending the workshop were representatives of leaders of departments, branches, localities; Associations and production and import-export businesses in the city.

RCEP is an agreement consisting of 15 member countries, including 10 ASEAN countries and 05 partner countries: China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand signed on November 15, 2020 and officially took effect from January 1, 2022. Despite its large coverage, RCEP member countries also participate in many other trade agreements, and at the same time, due to its later establishment, at present, the rate of preferential utilization from RCEP has not reached the desired level. However, RCEP also has strengths that other FTAs ​​do not have. RCEP is not simply a new Agreement but a consolidation and expansion of previous FTAs, helping to simplify regulations and create a unified trade area, connecting regional FTAs ​​together, creating a larger and more connected economic space... Therefore, the Workshop is a good opportunity for Hai Phong authorities and businesses to learn more deeply and clearly about the RCEP Agreement. Thereby raising awareness for state management agencies as well as supporting the business community to exploit and maximize the benefits that RCEP brings to Hai Phong's goods export.

Presenting at the workshop were experts from the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, who introduced the RCEP Agreement and its commitments related to textiles, footwear, and electrical equipment; the Rules of Origin in the RCEP Agreement and opportunities to promote diversification and increase exports; opportunities to export textiles and footwear to the Japanese market; enhancing online export capacity for small, medium and micro enterprises...

In Hai Phong, the implementation of the Agreements has always been focused on, which has made an important contribution to the city's economic development. In 2024, despite the complicated fluctuations of the world economy, with more difficulties than advantages, some basic import-export indicators of the city still achieved certain results, specifically: total export turnover in 10 months is estimated at 29.28 billion USD, up 23.23% over the same period, reaching 88.73% of the annual plan; total import turnover in 10 months is estimated at 23.39 billion USD, up 1.1% over the same period, reaching 73.11% of the annual plan; total retail sales of goods and service revenue in 10 months is estimated at 185,559.8 billion VND, up 13.45% over the same period, reaching 83.4% of the plan...