On 19 December 19 2022, Viet Nam and the EU held the second meeting of the Trade Committee under the EU – Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The meeting organized in virtual form was co-chaired by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Vice President of the European Commission cum EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. The Vietnamese delegation attending the meeting included representatives of the ministries of Industry and Trade, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, Transport, Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Environment, and Health.

At the meeting, the two sides highly appreciated the outcomes after two years of EVFTA’s entry into force, noting the efforts of the management agencies and businesses of Viet Nam and the EU in taking advantage of opportunities from this Agreement. The two sides also updated each other's views on the multilateral and regional situation, and listened to reports on the performance of a number of specialized committees, including on Trade in Goods, Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS); Trade and Services, Investment, Government Procurement and E-commerce, and Trade and Sustainable Development.

In addition, the two sides spent a substantial amount of time discussing a number of bilateral issues of mutual concern such as the amendment of Protocol 1 on rules of origin; medicine; fragrant rice; geographical indication (GI); labor sector reforms; special consumption tax on alcoholic beverages; preferential tariff treatment for EU’s customs territory; application of the Agreement to motor vehicles and refurbished goods; as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

At the meeting, relevant Vietnamese ministries and agencies actively discussed with EU representatives a number of issues such as the status quo of developing EU’s proposed regulation on Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM); EU’s draft bill on anti-deforestation and forest degradation; and EU's ratification progress for two Conventions on Occupational Safety and Health (No. 155 and 187) which has just been approved as ILO fundamental conventions.

At the closing remarks, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and EC Vice President cum EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis affirmed to continue working closely to promote bilateral trade and investment to further strengthen the relationship between Viet Nam and the EU in the coming time./.