Vietnam to up export to EU

Vietnam to up export to EU

HANOI: Vietnam expects to earn up to US$300 million more from
textile and garment exports shipped to the European Union this
year following a recent agreement to increase quotas, an official
said Wednesday.

Vietnam and the EU revised the agreement over the weekend,
allowing the communist country to increase export quotas 50
percent to 75 percent on "hot items" such as knit wears, shirts
and jackets.

The revised agreement, which still needs to be ratified by
both sides, will lift the current caps and allow more shipments
into the EU, Bui Xuan Khu, Vice Industry Minister was quoted by
Tuoi Tre (Youth) as saying.

He said Vietnam could earn an additional $250 million to $300
million this year from exporting the materials to the EU.

Last year, Vietnam's textile and garment exports to the EU
stood at $600 million.

But Khu also acknowledged that Vietnam could face fierce
competition from China, where some quotas were already relaxed
because of its World Trade Organization membership. Vietnam hopes
to become a WTO member by 2005.

Vietnam and the EU signed an initial agreement in 1992, and
the EU has revised textile and garment quotas four times since
then. -- AP