Vietnam is “ready” to negotiate a free-trade pact with the European Union, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told visiting EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht in Hanoi Tuesday.
After failing to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a whole, the EU is now seeking bilateral talks with the bloc's 10 members.
It has agreed to start negotiations with Singapore and Vietnam.
However, De Gucht told the media Tuesday that negotiating with Vietnam would not mean the EU recognized it as a market economy.
It is De Gucht’s first visit to Asia after taking over and Vietnam is his first stop.
Trade between Vietnam and the EU was worth nearly 12 billion euros (US$16 billion) last year and was growing by 12 percent a year until last year's economic crisis sent global trade into a tailspin.
The EU is Vietnam's second-largest export market after the US, buying goods worth 9.3 billion dollars last year. Major exports included footwear, garments, and seafood.
Last December the EU extended anti-dumping duties on leather-capped shoes from Vietnam -- and China -- for a further 15 months.
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