Vietnam-Austria Trade Overview

The EVFTA has changed the face of trade between Vietnam and the European Union. In this article, the Vietnam Briefings considers the specifics of what this has meant for trade between EU member Austria and Vietnam.

Last year, Austria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Schallenberg, paid a visit to Hanoi, another in a long line of many European politicians to make the trip. This interest in Vietnam is being driven by increasingly integrated trade between the European Union and the Southeast Asian nation on the back of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Whereas this has boosted trade broadly between the EU and Vietnam, in this article we look in detail at exactly what it has meant for trade between Austria and Vietnam.

Trade rules and regulations between Austria and Vietnam

EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)

The EVFTA is an ambitious pact set to eliminate almost 99 percent of customs duties between the EU and Vietnam. This agreement is expected to increase Vietnam’s GDP by 4.6 percent and its exports to the EU by 42.7 percent by 2025, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The European Commission also forecast the EU’s GDP to increase by US$29.5 billion as a result of the agreement.

EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA)

Currently in the works is the EVIPA. This agreement would help to protect European enterprises investing in Vietnam and vice-versa. Currently, the agreement still needs to be ratified by a number of European nations.

Austria’s exports to Vietnam

Austria’s biggest exports to Vietnam in 2023 were pharmaceuticals; machine, equipment, tools and instruments; and glass and glassware. Collectively these three items accounted for US$211 million of Austria’s exports to Vietnam out of a total US$393 million.

Austria’s exports to Vietnam in 2023

Source: General Department of Customs

Vietnam’s exports to Austria

Vietnam’s exports to Austria far outweigh its imports from Austria. This is in large part due to Vietnam’s emerging role as a manufacturing powerhouse. Specifically, Telephones, mobile phones and parts thereof; machine, equipment, tools and instruments; and footwear made up the bulk of Vietnam’s exports to Austria. These three items account for US$2.17 billion out of a total of US$2.54 billion worth of exports to Austria from Vietnam.

Vietnam’s exports to Austria in 2023

Source: General Department of Customs

Vietnam-Austria trade moving forward

Trade between Vietnam and the European Union in the wake of the passage of the EVFTA has flourished and this is clearly evident in trade between Vietnam and Austria.

Moving forward, as the EVFTA continues to see tariffs come down on a range of products, trade between these two nations should become even stronger. This may be further fortified by the EVIPA once ratified by the EU’s member states.

Overall, Vietnam and Austria have become important trading partners and this should continue long into the foreseeable future.

With offices all over Asia, Austrian firms looking to invest in Vietnam should consult the experts at Dezan Shira and Associates.

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