Vietnam toasts trade surplus with Japan
Vietnam saw a trade surplus of nearly US$1.8 billion from exports to Japan last year, according to General Department of Customs statistics.
Bilateral trade reached nearly US$23 billion, of which Vietnam's exports to Japan accounted for $12.37 billion.
For the past few years, the two countries have maintained a high growth rate for bilateral trade, and Vietnam has achieved a trade surplus for several consecutive years.
Two-way trade achieved high growth rates of about 17% year on average during the 2005-12 period, the department reported. It nearly doubled from US$8.5 billion in 2005 to US$24.7 billion in 2012.
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In recent years, the trade balance has typically leaned towards Vietnam. In 2011, Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of US$0.4 billion; this figure then rose to US$1.5 billion in 2012 and US$1.8 billion by November 2013.
Vietnam's key exports to Japan include textiles, oil, transport vehicles and their parts, machinery equipment and their parts, seafood, wood and wood products, plastic products, computers, and electronic products and components. Currently, Vietnamese textile exports to the Japanese market are favoured with a preferential tax rate of zero percent.
Alternatively, Vietnamese imports from Japan are mainly machinery equipment and their parts, computers, electronic products and components, steel and steel products, raw materials for the textile and footwear industries, and plastic products; these five groups in total reached a value of US$7.62 billion, accounting for 73% of all Vietnamese imports to Japan.
Four years after inking the Vietnam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreements (VJEPA), many Vietnamese export businesses have effectively exploited the advantages of preferential tariffs to boost exports to the Japanese market.
However, in order to enhance the share of Vietnamese goods in this demanding market, exporters must study the market for a better understanding of the commitments of the free trade agreements. They must also be prepared to face the various challenges of meeting high technical standards, especially in overcoming the strict barriers against food products in the Japanese market.