On the morning of November 13, 2025, in Can Tho City, the Multilateral Trade Policy Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City jointly organized the Workshop on Strengthening the Export Capacity of Local Strategic Products under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures, and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Regulations. The workshop attracted the participation of more than 100 delegates representing enterprises, industry associations, and State 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. Hua Truong Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City; Mr. Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment); Ms. Ma Thi Thanh, Vice Chairwoman of the Soc Trang Business Association; Mr. Nguyen Chi Tam, Vice Chairman of the Hau Giang Business Association; Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien, representative of the Customs Office (Ministry of Finance); representatives of relevant units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Multilateral Trade Policy Department, Import-Export Department); and a large number of enterprises.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ms. Nguyen Viet Chi, Deputy Director-General of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (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 gross domestic product (GDP). In the future, the scale of the RCEP market is expected to continue expanding, as the Agreement is receiving interest from some economies seeking to join. Notably, on October 27, 2025, RCEP member countries attended the 5th RCEP Summit – the first Summit since the Agreement was signed and fully entered into force – reaffirming the 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, along with regulations on policy transparency and trade facilitation, which help Vietnamese enterprises enhance flexibility in using input materials, diversify and optimize the production of export goods to RCEP member markets, thereby participating more deeply in regional supply chains. In addition, the implementation of RCEP also creates a binding legal framework in the region on trade, investment, intellectual property, e-commerce, etc., improving transparency and enhancing the attractiveness of the market. Sharing this viewpoint, Mr. Hua Truong Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City, affirmed that the RCEP member countries constitute a market area of strong interest to enterprises in Can Tho, particularly for key products such as agricultural and aquatic products.

The workshop program consisted of four presentations delivered by experts from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment: (i) Overview of the RCEP Agreement and commitments on trade in goods, and how to look up tariff schedules; (ii) Rules of origin under the RCEP Agreement and opportunities to promote diversification and strengthen exports; (iii) The RCEP Agreement and notes on customs procedures of member countries; (iv) Food safety and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations under the RCEP Agreement – Key considerations; followed by a discussion and Q&A session with the experts.

Throughout the program, the speakers provided substantive exchanges and effective support to enterprises in leveraging economic cooperation opportunities with RCEP member markets, aiming at diversification and sustainable development of business activities, especially export markets in the current context. At the same time, the workshop recorded feedback from representatives of agencies and enterprises to further enhance the effectiveness of Viet Nam’s participation in the RCEP Agreement./.

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