Four years after the Vietnam - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) officially took effect, trade relations between the two countries have expanded markedly. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, the two-way trade turnover grossed US$ 27 billion in 2012, representing an increase of nearly 50 percent over 2008. The value was expected to reach US$29 billion in 2013, up 16 percent year on year.
Vietnam enjoys trade surplus with Japan
The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, said although the economies of Vietnam and Japan are very different in development levels, they are still mutually complementary because of economic characteristics, livelihood habits and consumer structures. Hence, Vietnamese enterprises still manage to find and access niche markets in Japan. With those premises, Japan has become a leading, high potential and stable economic, trade and investment partner of Vietnam.
In the first nine months of 2013, the two-way trade revenue totalled US$18.31 billion, of which Vietnam earned US$9.87 billion and Japan raked in US$8.45 billion. Hence, Vietnam ran a trade surplus of US$1.42 billion in trade with Japan.
In the first nine months of 2013, Vietnam's merchandise exports to Japan were varied and plentiful. Top exports include garments and textiles with US$1.74 billion, followed by crude oil with US$1.51 billion and vehicle spare parts with US$1.35 billion.
One of remarkable features in Vietnam - Japan trade relations is the complementary structure of imports and exports, which are not directly competitive. Vietnam mainly imports machinery, inputs, equipment, spare parts, iron and steel for domestic export-driven production, while it ships crude oil, apparel, vehicles and parts, furniture and seafood to Japan. This merchandise structure reflects the mutual complementarity of the two economies. This is also a key difference in Vietnam’s trade with other countries in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, where Vietnam always runs huge trade deficits.
Promoting cooperation in supporting industries
Since 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan have deployed a Vietnam - Japan Joint Initiative Programme in the fourth stage, including three main contents, namely electricity, supporting industrial development and retail. The supporting industrial development content has obtained remarkable results. Specifically, the two sides agreed on the list of specific product categories that Vietnam should develop and attract investment for supporting industries and agreed on ‘moulding’ industries in the coming time. The two ministries will set up a list of 80 supported companies, including 52 Japanese companies and 28 Vietnamese enterprises. Vietnam will continue to choose companies active in ‘moulding’ industries.
The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency said: "Many large Japanese corporations have established their presence in Vietnam with reputable products of strong competitiveness and high technical content. Leading firms like Sumitomo, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Toshiba have become more familiar with Vietnamese people. These groups have invested in infrastructure, supporting industries and high-quality human resources training. Vietnam hopes not only large corporations, but also small and medium companies, especially those operating in supporting industries, continue to promote their investments into Vietnam."
A typical example in supporting industrial development cooperation between the two countries is that Japan's leading producers of printers and copiers have based their factories in Vietnam. These industries also play an important role in accelerating the industrialisation and modernisation process of Vietnam, attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI), promoting the development of small and medium enterprises in the country, creating competitive exports and developing the domestic market.
Huong Giang
Vietnamese
