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The Finance Ministry has finalised a tariff roadmap towards an ASEAN Free Trade Area, which calls for a huge cut of duties on brand-new car imports from member countries to 5% by 2010 from 90% currently.
The process will begin in 2008 for cars with under nine seats, with tariff level proposed to drop to 20%. Tariffs will continue to fall to 10% by 2009 and 5% by 2010.
For cars with more than nine seats each, the process will begin one year earlier, in 2007, with the rate to drop initially to 20%.
The rates will reduce to 10% by 2008 and 5% by 2009.
The roadmap was prepared in line with the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) agreement signed among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
CEPT came into force in January of 1992 to gradually remove trade barriers between ASEAN countries.
Deputy Finance Minister Truong Chi Trung said once Vietnam fully joins the World Trade Organisation (WTO), there will no longer be discrimination of treatment between domestic and foreign businesses.
The roadmap has been submitted to the Government for negotiation with member countries, said the Finance Ministry.
Nhan Dan - (10/04/2006)
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