EU-Vietnam FTA to Take Effect in Summer, EU Says

The European Council gave its final approval for a free trade agreement between the European Union and Vietnam (see 1906260068), saying it expects the deal to take effect this summer, according to a March 30 press release. The EU said it is awaiting ratification from Vietnam’s National Assembly. The deal is the “most ambitious free trade agreement ever concluded with a developing country,” Gordan Grlić Radman, minister for foreign and European affairs of Croatia, said in a statement.