Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU - including Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) was started negotiation by both Parties in March 2013. After 2 years of negotiations with 8 official sessions, was officially signed on May 29, 2015 in Burabay, Kazakhstan.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam has issued a written notice that the two sides have completed the ratification procedures and the FTA between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union officially took effect from October 5, 2016.

After taking effect, the two sides will establish a Joint Committee, a Committee on Trade in Goods, and a Sub-Committee on Rules of Origin to coordinate the effective implementation and at the same time supervise the implementation of the agreement.

EAEU's Commitment

The EAEU's commitment on opening the goods market (through tariff elimination) for Vietnam can be divided into the following groups:

• Group that eliminates immediately after the agreement comes into effect (EIF): includes 6,718 tariff lines, accounting for about 59% of the tariff schedule.
• Group of tariff elimination according to the annual reduction schedule and will eliminate in the last year of the schedule (by 2025 as the latest): including 2,876 tariff lines, accounting for about 25% of the tariff schedule.
• Group reduced immediately after the Agreement coming into effect by 25% compared to the current rate and then remained unchanged: including 131 tariff lines, accounting for about 1% of the tariff schedule.
• Non-committed group (N/U): includes 1,453 tariff lines, accounting for 13% of the tariff schedule (this group is understood as the EAEU that is not bound to eliminate or reduce tariffs, but can unilaterally eliminate/reduce tariffs if desired)
• Group applying the threshold protection measure (Trigger): includes 180 tax lines, accounting for about 1.58% of the tariff schedule
• Tariff rate Quota: includes only 2 products: rice and unprocessed tobacco leaves.

Vietnam's commitment

Vietnam's commitment on opening the goods market to the EAEU is divided into four groups:

• The group that eliminates tariffs immediately after the Agreement comes into effect (EIF): accounts for about 53% of the tariff
• The tariff elimination group follows the annual reduction schedule and will eliminate tariffs in the last year of the schedule (by 2026 as the latest): accounting for about 35% of the total tariff lines, specifically:
  • Group completely eliminate tariffs by 2018: 1.5% of total tariff lines in the tariff (meat, fish, and vegetable products, spare parts for agricultural machinery, transformers, pearls, stone) precious…)
  • Group completely eliminate tariffs by 2020: 22.1% of the total tariff lines in the tariff (paper, seafood, furniture, electrical machinery, vegetables, iron and steel products, ...)
  • Group completely eliminate tariffs by 2022: 1% of the total tariff lines in the tariff (auto parts parts, some types of automobile engines, motorcycles, iron and steel, etc.)
  • Group to completely eliminate tariffs by 2026: 10% of the total tariff lines in the tariff (alcohol, machinery and equipment, tools and spare parts, complete automobiles (trucks, buses, cars, etc.) cars with more than 10 seats...)
• Uncommitted group (U): accounted for about 11% of the total tariff lines
• Other commitments (Q): products subject to tariff rate quotas.

In order to enjoy preferential tariff under this Agreement, a good must meet the Agreement's rules of origin.

In particular, a good will be eligible to be originating in a Party (Vietnam or the EAEU) if:

• Is wholly obtained or produced in a Party, or,
• Produced entirely in one or both parties, from originating materials in one or both Parties, or:
• Produced in a Party, using non- originating materials but which meet the product-specific rules set forth in Annex 3b – Specific Rules of Origin each item of the Agreement.

In general, the Product-specific rules of origin in the Vietnam - EAEU FTA are quite simple, usually goods only need to have a value-added content – VAC ≥ 40% (some require VAC ≥ 50-60%) or there is the undergone a change in tariff classification at the level of 2, 4, and 6 digit levels to enjoy tariff preferences.

* Remark: VAC is calculated according to the formula: (FOB value – Value of non-originating materials)/ FOB value x 100%.

In addition, the Agreement has a provision on De Minimis that allows goods that do not meet the change in tariff classification but still enjoy preferential tariffs if there is a weight of the non-originating materials not exceed 10% of the FOB price of the goods

Certificate of origin

Regarding procedures for granting preferential certificates of origin (C/O), while the new generation FTAs ​​such as CPTPP and Vietnam-EU FTAs ​​aim to apply the self-certification of origin mechanism, the Vietnam – EAEU FTA still applies the process of granting certificates of origin through an authorized agency. The C/O form is attached to the Agreement.

Under this Agreement, Vietnam and the EAEU have committed to make efforts to apply the Electronic Origin  Certification and Verification System (EOCVS) within a maximum of 2 years from the date of entry into force of the Agreement in order to build a database records the information of all Certificates of Origin issued by an authorized authority, and the customs authority of the importing country can access and check any Certificate of Origin validity and content.

Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement

• Annex 1a - Schedules of tariff commitments - General Notes
• Annex 1b - EAEU schedule of tariff commitments
• Annex 1c - Note on tariff rate quotas for rice exported to the Eurasian Economic Union
• Annex 1d - Viet Nam Schedule of Tariff Commitments
• Annex 1e - Note on tariff rate quotas for egg exported to Vietnam
• Annex 1f - Note on tariff rate quotas for unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse exported to Vietnam
• Annex 2a - Trigger level for trigger safeguard measures - General Notes
• Annex 2b - Trigger level for trigger safeguard measures - Commitments
• Annex 3a - Product Specific Rules - General Notes
• Annex 3b - Product Specific Rules - Commitments
• Annex 4 - The list of offshore countries or territories
• Annex 5 - Certificate of Origin

Protocol No.1 between Vietnam and Russia to the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union

Protocol No.2 between Vietnam and Russia to the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union

In the FTA between Vietnam and the EAEU, the Chapter on Services, Investment and Movement of Natural Persons applies only between Vietnam and Russia and not to other countries in the EAEU.

In which, commitments on service market opening for Mode 1 (Across borders supply), Mode 2 (Consumption abroad) and Mode 4 (Movement of natural persons) are made. following the “Choose – Give” method similar to the WTO.

Mode 3 (Presence of natural persons) is implemented according to the method of "Choose - Remove" like some new FTAs ​​of Vietnam such as CPTPP. Different from the “Choose – Give” method, the “Choose – Remove” method each member country will provide a List of specified service sectors that the member country does not want to open, or open to partners at a certain level, and the country only has to open at least as committed. For fields outside this List, that country will be forced to open it entirely, without any restrictions for partners.

The level of service market opening of Vietnam in the VN-EAEU FTA is not much higher than that of the WTO.

Other commitments of the Agreement on Intellectual Property, Competition, Sustainable Development... are mainly of a cooperative nature and do not exceed Vietnam's commitments in the WTO and other FTAs.