Vietnam reduces tariffs on some product lines

Vietnam’s tariff cut on a number of product lines under the country’s commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) officially took effect on January 11, announced the Ministry of Finance.

According to the ministry, upon its accession to the WTO, Vietnam will cut import-export duties on 3,800 categories of goods or 35.5 percent of its committed Tariff List.

The country also accepted higher ceiling duty rates for 3,170 tariff lines or 30 percent of the Tariff List, mainly levied on such product groups as petrol, metals, chemicals and some specialised transport vehicles.

The biggest tariff reductions were applied to ready-made clothes (from 50 percent to 20 percent), fabrics (from 40 percent to 12 percent) and fibre (from 20 percent to 5 percent).

Gold, silver, gemstones, glass, footwear, household commodities, electronic appliances, steels, alloys, water filter appliances, vacuum cleaners, alcohol, beer, soft drinks and medicines saw tariff reductions ranging from 10 to 25 percent.

Vietnam’s commitments cover 10,689 tariff lines which will be reduced in between five and seven years.

(Source: VOV)