EC, Vietnam Start Bilateral Pact; No Anti-dumping Investigation Agreed

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Vietnamese Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung agreed on November 26 to bring the all-rounded cooperation relations to new height by starting a new Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Pact to expand the bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2010, state media reported.

 

EC President Barroso pledged during the talks with the host PM that the bloc will not launch any anti-dumping investigations into Vietnamese commodities, and will recognize the full-market economy of Vietnam soon.

 

EC will lift dumping duties on the Vietnamese leathered shoes, bicycles, and neon lights, PM told the press conference on November 26

 

Barroso said in the joint statement that he himself launched the comprehensive partnership agreement to facilitate deeper economic and commercial integration between the European Union and Vietnam preceding a future Free Trade Agreement between the EU and countries of ASEAN.

 

The pact will enable the two sides to tackle effectively emerging challenges such as the climate change, anti-terrorism, mass destruction weapons, poverty and epidemics, he noted.

 

The EC president also said the EC will grant Vietnam EUR304 billion (US$451 million) for its socioeconomic, health and education programs from now till 2013.