Vietnam has initialled a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Republic of Korea (RoK).
The initialling took place on March 29 – but the deal still needs approval from the respective legislatures.
The two governments want to ratify the pact by the end of June.
The two countries agreed to work for the official signing of the accord within the first half of the year, said a trade representative from the RoK Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
Although all of the details of the agreement were not revealed, under its terms and conditions, both countries will eliminate substantially all tariffs on imports and exports between them.
The pact will create a golden opportunity for RoK businesses to operate in the Vietnamese market, especially in the field of garments and textiles, automobile spare parts, cosmetics, and electronics.
However, rice will be excluded from FTA coverage.
The agreement is expected to boost the combined imports and exports between the two nations threefold to US$70 billion by 2020.
(VOV)
