European parliament

The country is currently implementing 12 trade agreements, which have so far cost it VND29 trillion ($1.25 billion) in reduced or abolished import duties, according to Ha Duy Tung, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Finance’s department of international cooperation. Vietnam is currently part of or negotiating a total of 20 such agreements, he said. The customs sector is still getting its revenue from a wide range of taxes, including environmental protection, anti-dumping, and special consumption taxes. Vietnam is only required to cut import duties under trade agreements, and can still levy other types of taxes, Tung noted. Customs revenue has continued to increase, but the proportion of import taxes to total revenue has been declining. In 2017, import duties accounted for 21.85 percent of customs revenue, then fell to 17.4 percent in 2018 and 16.7 percent in the first 11 months of 2019, he cited. In the first 11 months of 2019, the customs sector collected VND320 trillion ($13.74 … [Read more...] about Trade pacts cost Vietnam $558 million in import duties

London stocks and the British pound jumped Friday after an election triumph for Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson that analysts said will bring clarity to Brexit proceedings and unlock stronger economic growth. Other European stock markets -- although lagging buoyant London, which rose over two percent at one point -- also powered ahead, supported by confirmation of a partial trade deal between the United States and China. However, Wall Street's rally petered out, with American equities finishing little changed on the day both Beijing and Washington finally said they were on the same page. Stocks had rallied Thursday in anticipation of the trade deal with China, but then declined when the pact was announced. "You got a pretty good example of 'buy the rumors and sell the news,'" Art Hogan of National Holdings told AFP, referencing the saying indicating equities rise more in anticipation of an event than after the event itself. "But it's certainly great news on Brexit … [Read more...] about European stocks surge on Johnson election triumph, US trade deal

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament Liviu Dragnea (Photo: VNA) Bucharest (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with Liviu Dragnea, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, in Bucharest on April 16 as part of his official visit to the European country. At the meeting, the two sides lauded the sound development of the traditional friendship and all-round cooperation between the two countries over the years. They agreed that the impressive development achievements in each country alongside the shared strengths between the two sides have laid a firm foundation for them to continue boosting their ties in the time ahead, especially between the two parliaments. PM Phuc thanked the parliament, government, and people of Romania for their warm welcome, affirming that Vietnam always attaches great attention to its partnership with Romania and lauding the contributions of … [Read more...] about PM meets head of Romania’s Chamber of Deputies

Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – Germany will promote the attraction of human resources from Vietnam and other countries in Asia and South America due to a serious shortage of labour force in the coming time, according to a local official. The Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Berlin quoted German Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier as saying on December 13 that the shortage of skilled workers is one of the biggest challenges for Germany to stand firm in the context of global competition. To address this issue, Germany will have to attract human resources from countries outside the European Union (EU) to meet its labour demand. According to Altmaier, Germany is more likely to seek skilled workers from Asia and South America, specifically cooperating with economic unions to implement pilot projects with Vietnam, India and Brazil./. VNA … [Read more...] about Germany looks to draw human resources from Vietnam

Authorised agencies inspect fishing boats in Ham Luong river of Ben Tre province (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has issued directions guiding coastal localities in intensifying measures to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Accordingly, the People’s Committees of coastal provinces and cities must accelerate the recovery of Movimar satellite geo-positioning devices installed in fishing vessels with lengths of below 24 metres for installation in those of 24 metres and above. At the same time, they should push the prompt upgrade of GPS-integrated VX-1700 satellite communication equipment on both vessels and coastal stations, and impose strict punishment on those ships which fail to operate the monitoring equipment around the clock as required. Authorities of coastal localities and relevant agencies must further tighten the monitoring of fishing vessels’ movement through ports along with … [Read more...] about Agriculture Minister orders intensified IUU combat