VIETNAM: Export and Import Tariff Schedules for UK-Vietnam FTA Released

The government of Vietnam has issued a decree on preferential export and import tariffs, implementing the UK-Vietnam free trade agreement. Decree 53/2021/ND-CP (Decree 53), issued on 21 May 2021, came into force on the same day and contains two appendices that outline the new tariff schedules for the 2021-2022 period under the trade agreement. 

Appendix I details Vietnam’s preferential export tariff structure and includes the commodity codes, descriptions and export tariffs for all products under each code when exported to the UK. Exported products will enjoy preferential tariffs if traders supply copies of transport documents showing that the products are bound for the UK and provide import customs declarations for the batches of Vietnam-originated goods. 

Appendix II lays out the country’s special preferential import tariff structure. Again, the appendix gives all relevant commodity codes, commodity descriptions and preferential tariffs for imports to Vietnam from the UK. To qualify for the special preferential import tariffs, items must be imported into Vietnam from the UK or other non-tariff zones, and must comply with regulations on rules of origin required by the trade agreement, for which traders must provide appropriate documentation. 

Vietnam and the UK signed the trade deal in December 2020. The agreement will eventually remove all customs duties once fully in force, and provides opportunities for expanded collaboration and trade in sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure and renewables.