62
authors pointed out the coverage of preferential
trade agreements (PTAs) including expanded
issues over time. Most of current PTAs go
beyond tariff reduction to include commitments
on services, investment, intellectual property,
technical barriers to trade and dispute settlement
mechanism. Provisions on the enforcement of local
labor and environment laws are also included in
PTAs. Also, in the latest PTAs, commitments on
policy integration comprise poverty reduction,
development and rural tourism (Whalley, 2008).
In recent years, FTAs with abovementioned
commitments have been relatively impressive
due to rapid tariff reduction schedule, with most
of tariff lines being reduced to 0% as soon as the
agreement came into effect. This offers a greater
market access for member countries. These FTAs
are called ‘new generation FTAs’. Despite the lack
of an official definition of ‘new generation FTAs’,
this term is usually used to imply these ambitious
FTAs with more comprehensive commitments.
Commitments related to Vietnam’s retail sector
in new generation FTAs
According to the Asia Regional Integration
Center (ARIC), as of September 2018, Viet Nam
has participated in 17 FTAs, ranked 13
th
out of 48
East Asian countries, and 4
th
inASEAN in terms of
FTAs number. According the authors’ compilation
from statistics presented by WTO Center (VCCI),
new generation FTAs that Vietnam is a member
country included Vietnam – South Korea FTA,
COMMITMENTS RELATEDTOVIETNAM’S RETAIL SECTOR
INNEWGENERATION FTAs
VU HOANG LINH, PhD., TRAN THI MAI THANH, PhD. CANDIDATE, BUI THI HONG NGOC, MBA.
- Vietnam Institute of Economics*
As of October 2018, Vietnam has joined 17 FTAs, 4 of which are regarded as new generation FTAs,
including Vietnam – South Korea FTA, Vietnam – EACU FTA, CPTPP, and EVFTA. Retailing market and
retailing sector in Vietnamwill be primarily impacted by commitments under the framework of the
aforementioned agreements. The most directly impacted commitments to Vietnam’s retail sector include
(i) commitment to open the retail market, and (ii) commitment to open markets for goods and services
related to the circulation of goods.
Keywords: New generation FTAs, retail sector, CPTPP, EVFTA
Received: July 6
th
, 2018
Revised: September 26
th
, 2018
Accepted for publication: October 4
th
, 2018
Introduction of new generation FTAs
Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) is a term
commonly used by GATT/WTO to refer to
trade liberalization agreements between GATT/
WTO members on the principle of reciprocity in
compliance with Article XXIV of GATT, Article
V of GATS, and Terms of Use. RTA as defined
by GATT/WTO is used to refer to two forms of
economic integration including free trade areas
(FTA) and customs union (CU). Under a legal
perspective, free trade agreement (FTA) is the
legal framework for the formation of a free trade
area or a customs union after a certain period of
time.
According to World Trade Report (2011), the
TABLE 1: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONVENTIONAL AND ‘NEW
GENERATION’ FTAs
Scope of
commitments in
conventional FTAs
Scope of commitments in
‘new generation’ FTAs
Removal of tariff
and non-tariff
barriers
Removal of tariff, non-tariff barriers and
other issues under the framework of
GATT/WTO including trade in services,
intellectual property, and dispute
settlement
Issues outside the governing scope
of GATT/WTO including Singapore
issues, standards and conformity, labor,
environment, democracy, human rights,
and anti-terrorism
Source: Bui Truong Giang (2010)
