Vietnam is currently the Canada’s largest trade partner among ASEAN countries, with two-way trade revenue of CAD7.98 billion (US$6.01 billion) in 2019, higher than the value of CAD6.5 billion in 2018.
Vietnam also boasts the largest number of students to Canada among ASEAN countries and the fifth largest number of students to Canada on the global scale.
After one-year implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam’s total export revenue to Canada has increased by 29.7%, with a 72% increase in revenue from the export of electronic products in particular.
Meanwhile, the Canada’s export revenue to Vietnam has also soared dramatically with a rise of 230.7% for meat products and 61.2% for cereal products.
Kendal Hembroff predicted that a future comprehensive trade agreement between Canada and ASEAN would bring about benefits to all participating parties. The agreement is expected to help Vietnam maximise on opportunities from signed free trade agreements (FTA) while creating conditions for Vietnam to elevate the positive influence of the CPTPP in areas having common interests.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong said that amid sharp declines in the global trade due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade volume between Vietnam and Canada remains the upward trend though at a modest pace of 0.1%.
With the advantage of being an FTA hub in Asia Pacific, Vietnam will be a bridge to bring Canadian goods and services to the ASEAN market of 600 million consumers as well as to other important markets in the region, Phong noted.
The online seminar on economic, trade and education cooperation between the two countries saw the participation of representatives from the Canadian Government and about 80 Canadian enterprises, demonstrating the great attention of the Canadian side to Vietnam in the context that the two sides are investigating the possibility of the establishment of a Canada-ASEAN FTA.
