Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam recorded a trade surplusof over 1 billion USD with the 10 other members of the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in the seven monthssince the deal took effect in the country in January, according to the GeneralDepartment of Vietnam Customs.

The CPTPP, one of the largest trade pacts in theworld, covers 13.5 percent of global GDP and a market of about 500 millionpeople. It gathers 11 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile,Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

It officially took effect in Vietnam on January14 this year.

The authority further said the country’s exportsto the CPTPP members like Japan, Canada and Mexico rose considerably in thefirst seven months of the year. The shipments to Japan reached 1.01 billionUSD, Canada 546 million USD and Mexico 290 million USD.

Meanwhile, imports from Mexico dropped by 659 millionUSD, Singapore down 490 million USD, and Malaysia down 219 million USD.

Exports to the CPTPP countries since the year’sbeginning have accounted for 15.4 percent of the total export revenue.Additionally, six of the 27 markets to which Vietnam’s shipments surpassed 1billion USD are CPTPP economies.

These figures show that the agreement has helpedVietnam tip its trade scale in favour of exports, the general department said.

At a working session with Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Deparment Dinh Ngoc Thang on August 12, Canadian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City KyleNunas said with a relatively short roadmap for tariff reductions by Canada(from 17 – 18 percent to zero percent in three years), some groups ofVietnamese commodities are forecast to enjoy strong export growth as from 2019such as textile-garment, footwear, handbags, and plastic and wood products.

Businesses and investors of Canada are also payingspecial attention to Vietnam’s roadmap for opening its market for severalagricultural products like pork, beef, chicken, aquatic products and freshfruits, he noted.

Australia is also a potential market forVietnamese goods. As soon as the CPTPP came into force, Vietnam began makinguse of opportunities generated by the deal to boost shipments to Australia.Notably, it has dominated the tra fish market there as it supplies up to 98 percentof the tra fish amount consumed in the country.

Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, Director of the WTO Centreunder the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said the CPTPPeconomies’ stronger demand for Vietnamese agricultural products is expected tohelp local exporters offset the recent decline in the export of those items toChina, which has tightened import regulations.

Shinji Hirai, chief representative of the JapanExternal Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Ho Chi Minh City, said the CPTPP willconsolidate Vietnam’s role as a production and export hub of businesses ofJapan as well as other member countries. In return, Vietnamese firms will alsogain similar benefits when it enters the markets of other CPTPP nations./.