In order to take advantage of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), experts say Vietnamese enterprises should pay more attention to intellectual property rights.

In addition to ensuring general requirements of importing countries on food safety, rules of origin and labour protection are met, enterprises should focus on intellectual property in the commitment of agreements. These are commitments on copyright, invention and geographical indication with a higher level of protection than the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Another issue highlighted was that businesses should limit the production and use of products that directly or indirectly affect the environment, such as products with plastic packaging and canned goods, because customers in the EU are particularly concerned about the problem. They are willing to boycott products that may harm the environment or are less environmentally-friendly. Businesses need to research and understand current tastes as well as consumption trends of people in European countries to penetrate the market, especially with some countries placing restrictions on the use of sugar in processed agricultural products.-VNA