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