Vietnam plans to pour US$60 million into key national trade promotion programs in 2006 in order to increase exports, a sharp increase from the total funding of US$12 million last year, according to the Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Trade.
According to the Department, the sum will be used to assist trade associations, corporations and trade promotion agencies to discover and develop markets and products for export. The ministry expects total export turnover to reach US$37-38 billion this year.
Priorities in the key national trade promotion programs in 2006 will be given to export staples such as seafood, rice, tea, vegetable and fruits, as well as textile-garments, footwear, wood, fine art and handicrafts, and electronic-information products.
The programs will also aim to assist businesses enter major export markets such as the US, the EU, Japan, Russia, Africa and the Middle East.
The Department said that this year's programs also aim to increase businesses’ trade promotion activities in the domestic market, which will be flooded by imported products from other ASEAN countries that enjoy tax rates of 0-5 per cent beginning this year.
Last year, Vietnam injected VND195 billion (US$12 million) to support trade promotion activities in 2005, propelling export revenue to US$32.23 billion, a 21.4 per cent year-on-year increase.
In related development,
the government on January 9 decided to set up a council under the Ministry of Trade to deal with anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and self protection. Funding for the council will be covered by the State budget and be included in the annual budget allocated for the Trade Ministry.
The council will research information from the Competition Management Department to determine whether dumping and subsidy of imported goods threatens the domestic production. It will be responsible to request the Trade Minister to apply anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tax and take self-defence measures.
VNA, Vietnam Economic Times
Vietnamese
