In the context of global economic integration, free trade zones have become an effective model to promote import-export activities and develop logistics.
On December 1, at Ho Tram Tourist Area (Xuyen Moc District, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province), the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) held a workshop on "Free Trade Zone - Opportunities and Solutions for Realization."
The workshop was attended by representatives of state management agencies, associations, schools, institutes, international organizations in Vietnam, corporations, general companies and the business community in the fields of logistics and import-export.
Director of the Import-Export Department Nguyen Anh Son said the workshop is part of the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2024, which will be held in a plenary session on December 2 at the same location with the participation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
The workshop aims to help delegates exchange and discuss more deeply about the contents surrounding the Forum's theme "Free Trade Zone - Breakthrough Solution to Promote Logistics Growth."
At the workshop, delegates said that in the context of global economic integration, free trade zones have become an effective model to promote import-export activities and develop logistics.
Free trade zones provide a transparent mechanism, helping businesses benefit from tax exemptions, tax reductions and reduced administrative barriers.
This is especially important for Vietnam, an economy that relies heavily on exports and is expanding its market through free trade agreements (FTAs) with many major partners.
Delegates focused on discussing and assessing the current situation of logistics in Vietnam, at the same time, identifying opportunities, difficulties, challenges and sharing experiences, solutions, and proposals from the practical needs of the logistics business community to propose and recommend to competent authorities to perfect the mechanism and policies for developing free trade zones in Vietnam.
In Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, Resolution 24 of the Politburo set out the task for the locality as "Forming a free trade zone associated with a seaport in the Cai Mep Ha area... continuing to develop and modernize the Cai Mep-Thi Vai international gateway port into a large international transit port of regional and international stature."
Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province Le Ngoc Khanh said that through analysis of the potential and advantages for building and developing a free trade zone associated with a seaport in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, the province found that there were sufficient conditions for the province to build a free trade zone associated with a seaport in the Cai Mep Ha area.
The province identifies the task of researching and forming a free trade zone associated with the seaport in Cai Mep Ha area as a key political task in the coming period.
The benefits of Free Trade Zones for economic development in general and logistics services in particular have been proven from practice around the world. However, up to now, Vietnam has not had any free trade zones except for the model of Da Nang city that has just been approved by the National Assembly to be implemented under a pilot mechanism.
Currently, the Vietnamese legal system does not have regulations on the order, procedures, and authority to decide on investment policies, establishment decisions, management models, operating mechanisms, and management decentralization in free trade zones for uniform application./.
