On November 08, 2024, Seminar on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement and Opportunities to Boost Viet Nam's Viet Nam's Exports of Textiles, Footwear and Electrical Equipment Products was organised by the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) and the Hai Phong City’s Department of Industry and Trade.

This event is in the series of seminars held by the Multilateral Trade Policy Department aimed at disseminating information about the commitments under the RCEP Agreement, thereby raising awareness for state agencies in provinces/cities and localities and supporting the business community to exploit and effectively utilise business opportunities and economic benefits brought about by this Agreement, especially in the context of the trend of digital transformation and green transformation towards sustainable development in the coming time.

The seminar was chaired by Ms. Nguyễn Việt Chi, Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, with the participation of Mr. Nguyễn Văn Thành, Director General of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade. Presentations were made by Ms. Quyen Thi Thuy Ha, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Osaka, Japan; representatives of a number of functional units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Multilateral Trade Policy Department, the Agency of Foreign Trade, Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency). The workshop also had the participation of a large number of business communities interested in RCEP markets in Hai Phong City.

Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Deputy Director of Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade delivered the opening speech at the Seminar

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Hai Phong city co-chaired the Seminar

During the seminar, the representative from the Multilateral Trade Policy Department presented an overview of the RCEP Agreement and its commitments, especially those related to Vietnam's textile, footwear, and electrical equipment products. He then introduced tools for businesses to look up tariff commitments in FTAs that Viet Nam is a member on the Viet Nam Trade Respiratory (vntr.moit.gov.vn). After that, the representative of the Agency of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Industry and Trade, digged into the analysis of tariff differential in the RCEP Agreement and the related rules of origin certification mechanism. The third presentation was delivered by Ms. Quyen Thi Thuy Ha, Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Osaka, Japan, on the opportunities for exporting textiles and footwear products of Viet Nam to the Japanese market. Finally, the representative of the Viet Nam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade, shared insights on online export through e-commerce platforms to improve online export capacity for small, medium and micro enterprises.

The Q&A session then came with various queries related to the utilisation of the RCEP Agreement and the rules of origin under the RCEP Agreement, etc. The seminar was a great success, contributing to helping agencies, associations, and enterprises in the city better understand the RCEP commitments and the opportunities and challenges they pose for their fields, thereby enabling them to effectively leverage the benefits of the Agreement.

**Multilateral Trade Policy Department**