EAEU, Vietnam agree to veterinary talks on market access for seafood, meat products
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MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax) - The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Vietnam have agreed to hold a number of consultations on unresolved issues in mutual trade, including granting market access to seafood from Vietnam and shipments of meat products to Vietnam, Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Trade Minister Veronika Nikishina said.
The trade turnover between Vietnam and the EAEU has grown by 30% in the seven months that the free trade agreement with the Southeast country has been in effect, Nikishina told reporters after a meeting with Vietnamese Industry and Trade Minister Tran Tuan Anh as part of the first session of the joint committee for the trade deal.
"The free trade agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam went into effect in October 2016. The first meeting of the joint committee was held today. We noted that in the seven months that the free trade agreement has been in effect it has already demonstrated very positive effects for business. And these effects, importantly, are absolutely balanced and mutually beneficial. The trade turnover has grown by almost 30% in both directions. Another very important factor that is the result of the agreement is that the increase in trade turnover does not only apply to goods for which there is an agreement to lower duties, but also for goods that are listed in exclusions. In other words, the agreement has a multiplier effect," Nikishina said.
"Today we agreed on concrete steps to discuss unresolved issues. For example, producers in Kazakhstan and Russia are concerned about certain intentions by Vietnam to impose restrictions, up to and including a ban, on chrysotile asbestos, which is used in construction. We agreed to hold a series of professional consultations about the possible negative impact on health or the absence of such, and we have scientific studies on this, and agree on further steps for how to respond to regulation of asbestos," Nikishina said.
"Similarly, we have agreements on consultations between veterinary authorities that will concern the granting of permission for Vietnamese companies that intend to supply seafood to our countries' markets and reciprocal interests regarding the granting of permission for EAEU meat producers to access the Vietnamese market," Nikishina said.
The EAEU and Vietnam are also discussing creating an electronic system for confirmation of certificates of origin for goods, "which will quite significantly make life easier for exporters," Nikishina said.