- Agreeing to WTO rules can help countries to forge new trade links. In 2014-15, the EU and ASEAN negotiated new trade deals.
- One of the largest took place in August 2015 with Vietnam. It removed all import duties and quotas on items traded between EU countries and Vietnam.
- Over 31 million jobs in Europe depend on exports, so having easier access to a growing and fast-developing market like Vietnam, with its 90 million consumers, is great news. Before the deal, the value of EU trade in Vietnam was already $30 billion in 2014.
- Vietnam exports telephones, electronic goods, footwear, clothing, coffee, rice, seafood, and furniture. The EU exports electrical machinery, aircraft, vehicles, and pharmaceuticals.
- Vietnam’s labour costs are lower than China’s, so Western consumers can now benefit from lower prices.
