The proposed Trans Pacific Partnership is likely to push up the price of medicines, stop some Australians from taking their medicines and make it harder to restrict the sale of tobacco and alcohol, a comprehensive review of the deal between Australia and 11 other nations including the US and Japan has found.
Viet Nam is one of the leading countries championing the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the country's Minister of Industry and Trade said.
Tariffs are scheduled to be eliminated on more than 95 per cent of goods between Viet Nam and Laos.
An electronic commerce portal run by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) is slated to go online in mid-April to help connect local businesses with partners from Japan and other ASEAN countries.
Foreigners and Vietnamese expatriates will receive value added tax (VAT) refunds for goods purchased in Vietnam when exiting the country through Phu Quoc International Airport in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.
PM Nguyen Tan Dung has asked for stronger and deeper international integration in politics, diplomatics, security and national defence to enhance support, mutual understanding and trust between Viet Nam and partners.
The Viet Nam-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will serve as a milestone to strengthen the two countries' economic relations, expected to reach US$70 billion in trade by 2020.
Total foreign direct investment (FDI) in Viet Nam reached nearly US$1.2 billion in the first two months of this year, equivalent to just 77.5 per cent of that in the same period last year.
Japan is the second largest foreign investor in Vietnam with 2,494 projects as of January 20 and total registered capital of nearly $36.9 billion. However, since 2011, because of difficulties faced by the Japanese economy and the global recession, Japan's investment in Vietnam has declined.
Textile and garment exports are set for a boom this year, according to the Viet Nam Industrial and Trade Information Centre (VITIC), a Ministry of Industry and Trade agency.
| The site is done with the technical support of the project BWTO |
