Vietnamese Companies Face Challenges Entering EU Market Despite FTA

Vietnamese companies still face a range of non-tariff barriers in the European Union despite signing a free trade agreement in June (see 1906260068), according to a Jan. 1 report appearing in Customs News, the mouthpiece of Vietnam Customs. The barriers are a “major problem,” a Vietnamese officials said, according to the report. Companies are having issues meeting “very stringent environmental, quality, and technical standards” and are having trouble grasping “requirements of EU businesses,” the report said. Vietnam is working to provide “warnings and suggestions for solutions” to domestic companies to help them meet “general requirements” for EU customers and countries, the report said.