The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU-Việt Nam FTA trade deals will have a significant impact on the economy, according to Phạm Bình An, director of the HCM City International Integration Support Centre.
Moreover, the two trade agreements will put pressure on the Government to improve institutional governance as well as the business climate because of requirements included in the FTAs. Ngô Thanh Phong, lecturer at Tiền Giang University, said that FTAs had created opportunities to participate in global supply chains, but Vietnam must speed up administrative reform and improve its investment environment, especially in the context of increased protectionism internationally.
In the 2018 Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum, Vietnam ranked 77th out of 140 countries. It placed 99th for institutional competitiveness and 101st in business competitiveness.