EU Will Cancel Tariff Preferences For Vietnamese Footwear

According to the GSO, Vietnam's July import deficit has declined, the current (7) trade deficit is 800 million US dollars, and the average monthly income in the first 6 months of this year was 24,6 billion dollars. Vietnam's trade deficit in the first 7 months of this year was 15 billion US dollars, up 37% from the same period last year.

GSO continued to report that Vietnam's economic growth rate will be below the target of 7% this year, leading to the decline in Vietnam's number of imports in July this year, which is due to the government's efforts to curb inflation and enhance export policy.

Vietnam imported $51 billion 900 million in the first 7 months of this year, up 56.8% from the same period last year. Vietnam's exports amounted to US $36 billion 900 million, a corresponding growth of 37.7%, of which domestic enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises exported 16 billion 470 million US dollars and 20 billion 400 million US dollars respectively, up 40.1% and 35.8% respectively over the same period last year.

According to the Le Minh Thuy, the export volume of Vietnam in July this year reached a relatively high speed because of the rising global market prices, rather than the increase in Vietnam's exports.

Vietnam also exported 2 million 790 thousand tonnes of rice in the first 7 months of this year, amounting to US $1 billion 810 million, a 6.8% decline in export volume compared with the same period last year. However, the export volume grew by 87.6%; coffee exports amounted to 662 thousand tonnes, exports amounted to 1 billion 380 million US dollars, and grew by 3.8%; Vietnam exported 6 billion 800 million US dollars of crude oil in that period, with a corresponding growth rate of 52.2%, and exported 1447 metric tons of coal, amounting to US $18, with growth of 1447 dollars.

Yi further reported that changes in the US and EU markets also affected the export of Vietnamese manufacturers.

At present, the US market is in a shrinking position, and the EU will formally rescinde Vietnam's footwear preferential tariff rates from GSP in January 1, 2009.

Vietnam's imports of machinery, steel and automobiles in the first 7 months of this year amounted to $8 billion 100 million, $5 billion 140 million and $812 million, up 40.3%, 96.6% and 3.7 times over the same period last year.

According to Vietnam's import plan for this year, Vietnam will import about 87 billion US dollars and export about 66 billion 500 million US dollars, which will exceed US $20 billion.