Vietnam attends APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Conference

The 27th APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) took place online on June 5, 2021 with the participation of 21 APEC member economies and observers including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). Measures to open market will be discussed to facilitate trade and investment, including the smooth policy from Vietnam to support the setting up company.

In 2020, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economy shrank 3.3%. However, because of strong efforts in the introduction of vaccine production and vaccination, financial support programs in some countries, as well as more effective disease containment measures in many countries, this year’s global economy is forecasted to achieve marked improvements compared to 2020. According to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published in April 2021, the global economy is forecast to reach 6% in 2021 and 4.4% in 2022.

At this meeting, APEC Ministers focused on discussing trade policies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures taken include ensuring open markets, promoting the smooth flow of trade in essential goods and services, and facilitating safe and effective vaccine supply chains.

Another important content of the 27th MRT Conference is to support the multilateral trading system, including the progress of implementing reforms of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and updating the progress of negotiations in many fields, such as fisheries subsidies, special and differential treatment, industrial subsidies, market access, agriculture, etc. The APEC Ministers expressed their hope that reform and progress in WTO negotiations will bring positive results, contributing to strengthening the role of the multilateral trading system as well as global and regional economic integration.

At the Conference, the Vietnamese representative also affirmed that Vietnam would actively participate in negotiations and discussions to resolve current issues in the WTO to contribute to the success of the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. In addition, Vietnam also supports initiatives to promote the movement of goods and services in the region, both to help prevent the epidemic and to develop the economy.

Through the meeting, the participants hoped that in the coming time, in parallel with fighting the epidemic, the parties would also take measures to promote trade and investment to achieve the goal of economic development in the world. Vietnam commits to support the global trade and policy to smooth investment into Vietnam through setting up company.