On 2 December 2025, in Hue City, the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy (Ministry of Industry and Trade – MOIT) and the Hue City Department of Industry and Trade jointly organized the Workshop titled “Enhancing the Export Capacity of Local Strategic Products under the RCEP Agreement: Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures.” The event attracted the participation of more than 100 delegates representing enterprises, industry associations, and government agencies.

The workshop was attended by Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Deputy Director-General of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade); Mr. Phan Hung Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Hue City; Mr. Tran Ngoc Binh, Head of the Import–Export Management Division, Ho Chi Minh City area; Mr. Quyen Anh Ngoc, Head of the ASEAN Division, Department of Multilateral Trade Policy (Ministry of Industry and Trade); Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, representative of the Customs Office (Ministry of Finance); representatives from several functional units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (including the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy and the Import–Export Department), as well as numerous enterprises.

Delivering the opening remarks at the Workshop, Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Multilateral Trade Policy (Ministry of Industry and Trade), affirmed the important role and position of the RCEP Agreement — currently the world’s largest free trade agreement in terms of market size and total gross domestic product (GDP). She noted that, in the future, the scale of the RCEP market is expected to continue expanding as the Agreement has attracted interest from several economies seeking to join.

On 27 October 2025, RCEP member countries attended the 5th RCEP Summit — the first Leaders’ Summit since the Agreement was signed and fully entered into force — further reaffirming the high level of importance that member states attach to the Agreement.

The RCEP Agreement applies a single set of rules of origin for the entire free trade area, accompanied by provisions on policy transparency and trade facilitation, which help support Vietnamese enterprises in enhancing their flexibility in sourcing input materials, diversifying and optimizing production of export goods destined for RCEP member markets, thereby participating more deeply in regional supply chains. In 2024, Vietnam’s export turnover to RCEP member markets reached USD 155.44 billion, an increase of 17.6% compared to 2021, the period before the RCEP Agreement entered into force in 2022. 

Sharing the above perspective, Mr. Phan Hung Son, Deputy Director of the Hue City Department of Industry and Trade, stated that the group of RCEP member countries constitutes a market area of significant interest for enterprises in Hue City, who wish to further promote their business and import–export activities, particularly for the province’s key products such as agricultural and aquatic products, among others.

The Workshop comprised four presentations delivered by speakers from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The key topics focused on: an introduction to the commitment framework of the RCEP Agreement and methods for navigating the tariff schedule; essential aspects of rules of origin and the ability to utilize preferential tariffs; requirements related to customs procedures within the region; and fundamental regulations on food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures that enterprises need to observe. The program also allocated time for experts to directly address questions raised by participating businesses.

During the discussion session, the speakers provided a wealth of practical information to help enterprises better understand how to meet requirements related to rules of origin, SPS measures, and customs procedures in order to make more effective use of the opportunities offered by RCEP. The Workshop also recorded suggestions and feedback from representatives of regulatory agencies and the business community, contributing to improved implementation and further strengthening Vietnam’s role in the execution of the RCEP Agreement.

Source: Compiled by the Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam