Israel, Vietnam sign FTA; two-way trade expected to reach $3 bn soon

26 Jul '23

2 min read

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Israel and Vietnam have signed a free trade agreement that will remove duties on at least 86 per cent of Vietnamese products and 93 per cent of Israeli items.
The FTA is likely to see two-way trade reaching $3 billion and create a conducive atmosphere for Vietnam to promote exports to other markets in the Middle East and North Africa and southern Europe.

Israel and Vietnam yesterday signed a free trade agreement in Tel Aviv. The Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) will ultimately remove duties on at least 86 per cent of Vietnamese products and 93 per cent of Israeli products, according to the Vietnamese ministry of industry and trade. It is expected to see two-way trade reaching $3 billion soon.

Israeli minister of economy and industry Nir Barkat and Vietnamese minister of industry and trade Nguyen Hong Dien signed the agreement in the presence of Vietnamese deputy prime minister Tran Luu Quang and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Negotiations for the FTA started seven years ago. Israel is the first country in West Asia with which Vietnam has signed an FTA and Vietnam is also the first country in Southeast Asia that Israel has signed an FTA with, a news agency reported.

The agreement comprises 15 chapters and several appendices about trade in goods, services, investment, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, customs, trade remedies, government procurement, and legal and institutional framework.

The FTA is also expected to create a conducive atmosphere for Vietnam to promote exports to other markets in the Middle East and North Africa and southern Europe.

Israeli goods and technology will also get scope to reach markets in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

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