Hanoi (VNA) – Thousands of goods items will enjoy a zero percent importtariff in 2018 in line with Vietnam’s commitments on special preferentialimport duty rates within the framework of 10 free trade agreements (FTA).

The free trade deals are ASEAN, ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Republic of Korea (RoK),ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN-India, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand, Vietnam-Japan, Vietnam-RoK,Vietnam-Chile, and Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Deputy head of the International Relations Department under the Ministry ofFinance Pham Tuan Anh revealed the information at a press conference in Hanoion January 5 to introduce ten decrees stipulating preferential import tariffsfor the 2018-2023 period.

Under the Vietnam-EAEU FTA decree, 5,535 tariff lines have been reduced to zeropercent as of 2018 while 3,720 others are following suit this year such asmilk, dairy products, automobile and spare parts, iron and steel, and steel products.

For the ASEAN-China FTA, products to be subjected to the zero percent importtax rate in 2018 includes chicken, coffee, raw tea, processed food, apparelfabrics, clothes, electronic equipment and electrics.

The Vietnam-Japan FTA will see the zero percent rate applied to 456 tarifflines, mainly for the group of fat, sugar, machinery, equipment, and vehicleparts. Seafood, wheat, confectionery, diesel fuel, machineryand electronic equipment are some of 704 tariff lines that will be cut to zero percentthis year under the Vietnam-RoK FTA (KVFTA).

Regarding the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) decree,Vietnam had basically completed the elimination of tariffs within ASEAN by 2015with only seven percent of tariff lines being cut down to zero percent in 2018,including automobile, motorbike, vehicle components, vegetable oil, tropicalfruits, home electronic appliances, milk and dairy products.

Meanwhile, the ATIGA allows keeping a tariff rate of five percent for somesensitive agricultural products such as poultry, chicken, citrus fruits, brown rice,processed meat and sug🅘ar.-VNA