GUIDE TO THEEU-VIETNAMFREE TRADE AGREEMENT 4Foreword by Mr. Mauro Petriccione 4Foreword by Mr. Bruno Angelet 5Introducon to the Guide 6PART I: TRADE AND INVESTMENT RELATIONS 8Bilateral Trade Relaons 10Investment 16Overview of Vietnam’s Free Trade Agreements 18 20Introducon to the Free Trade Agreement 22Trade in Goods 24Cars 28Pharmaceucal Products 30Alcoholic Beverages 32Customs and Trade Facilitaon 34Rules of Origin 36Technical Barriers to Trade 38Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 40Intellectual Property Rights 42Geographical Indicaons 46Services and E-commerce 48Investment 52Investor to State Dispute Selement 54Government Procurement 56Sustainable Development 60Renewable Energies 62Antrust, Mergers, State-Owned Enterprises, Subsidies 64Trade Remedies 66Dispute Selement 67 68  EU CHIEF NEGOTIATOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL FOR TRADE AT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSIONFor both the EU and Vietnam, compleng negoaons on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is good news – the kind of thing we both need to ensure sustainable economic growth for our countries and good, stable jobs for our people. On 2 December 2015, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and former Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng announced in Brussels that the EU and Vietnam had concluded negoaons on a new trade deal or Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Both sides now need to rafy the agreement and then the deal will enter into force. This is expected in early 2018.The agreement is a great opportunity for European exporters. Vietnam has a vibrant economy of more than 90 million consumers, a growing middle class and a young, dynamic workforce. It is a market with great potenal for the EU’s agricultural, industrial and services exports. Vietnam is also one of the fastest growing countries in ASEAN with average GDP growth rate of around 6% between 2000 and 2014. It is projected to grow by 6.2% in 2016. In 2014, Vietnam climbed two posions to become the EU’s second biggest trading partner in ASEAN aer Singapore and ahead of Malaysia, with trade between the EU and Vietnam worth € 38 billion.The FTA will put EU exporters at least on a par with those from other countries and regions which have already concluded FTAs with Vietnam. These include ASEAN, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, India, Japan, and South Korea, and the countries that make up the Trans-Pacic Partnership (TPP). At the same me, it will put Vietnam in the same league as, for instance, South Korea and Singapore, who have concluded FTAs with the EU. It will create new opportunies for growth and development on both sides – for example, by making cuts in customs dues which will come into force quickly, while protecng those sectors which are especially sensive. The FTA will also help promote high-quality investment between Vietnam and the EU. The EU’s updated approach to investment protecon strikes a beer balance between boosng job-creang investment, whilst also protecng governments’ right to pursue policies in the public interest. Moreover, the agreement will promote sustainable development on both sides. It includes strong commitments to protect people’s basic rights at work, their human rights more broadly, and the environment. And it will support Vietnam’s eorts to grow and develop its economy for the benet of all its people. In fact, the Vietnam agreement is the most ambious and comprehensive FTA that the EU has ever concluded with a middle-income country. As such, it sets a new benchmark for Europe’s engagement with emerging economies. Aer Singapore, Vietnam is the second ASEAN country with which the EU has concluded a trade deal. The agreement is, therefore, also an important step towards the EU’s ulmate goal of securing an FTA with the whole ASEAN region.  AMBASSADOR - HEADOF DELEGATIONDELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TO VIETNAMVietnam is a strategic partner for the European Union (EU). For decades, the EU’s Member States and EU Instuons have contributed to Vietnam’s development in almost all sectors of governance and in the vast majority of regions and provinces of the country. Strong economic growth and poverty reducon have made Vietnam an increasingly aracve partner for Europe, both within ASEAN as well as in wider Asia, allowing us to look forward to a broader, comprehensive partnership for the future. Overall, the EU has been Vietnam’s major donor in grants (over € 5 billion over the last 10 years) and is today Vietnam’s biggest non-Asian investor (ranking 5th of total cumulave investment). We are also Vietnam’s largest trading partner aer China and the second biggest export market for Vietnam aer the USA. Since 2015 Vietnam has been the EU’s second biggest trade partner among the 10 ASEAN member countries (aer Singapore) and, amongst them, the largest exporter of goods to the EU.These gures clearly show the importance of our bilateral relaonship with Vietnam. The conclusion of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in 2015 will further reinforce our es. I am convinced that the FTA provides the right plaorm for increased trade and investment between us. Vietnam is the third partner in Asia with which the EU has concluded an FTA aer the two more developed economies of South Korea and Singapore. Indeed this opens plenty of opportunies. Our aim is that, through the FTA, we can encourage more European rms to be present in Vietnam, and promote beer access for Vietnamese business to the European market. In short, our target is to promote strategic alliances between us that are sustainable and that can contribute to improve the quality of life of our cizens. Our FTA deserves credit for being one of the most ambious and comprehensive Free Trade Agreements that the EU has ever concluded with a developing country. It showed once again Vietnam’s dynamic approach in pursuing internaonal integraon for the good of its cizens. But the FTA is not a goal on its own. Together with the Partnership and Cooperaon Agreement (PCA), the EU and Vietnam are developing a more strategic partnership. As Vietnam is turning into a middle-income country, we share a common agenda to smulate growth and employment, improve compeveness, further ght against poverty and consolidate reform.There are, however, some challenges ahead to ensure eecve and smooth implementaon of our FTA as well as to maximise its win-win potenal. We should, therefore, start preparing already and raise awareness of the content and potenal of the FTA. We sincerely hope that this pragmac guide will contribute to a beer understanding of the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam. We have tried to explain in simple and clear language, the main outcomes and achievements of the Agreement so that business can grasp the opportunies its presents from day one of its entry into force.45