Vietnam agrees automobile deal with Belarus

By Toan Dao March 25, 2016 | 02:27 am PT

Delegates sign the automobile deal in Minsk. : Reuters

Vietnam signed a deal with Belarus on March 23 in Minsk to set up joint ventures to manufacture automobiles in the Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade said in a statement on Thursday.

The pact is part of their efforts to realize the free trade agreement that Vietnam inked with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union in May last year, according to the ministry. The EEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Both the agreement and the Vietnam-EEU FTA will take effect in the middle of this year, the ministry said.

The Vietnam-based joint ventures will build trucks and cars with more than 10 seats, the statement said.

Vietnam will abolish import taxes on a certain number of vehicles that the joint ventures will import on a trial basis from Belarus, and set a quota for imports of automobile components over the next five years.

The joint ventures will also look to export vehicles around Southeast Asia to take advantage of tax incentives for products from Vietnam, said the statement.

On March 21, Vietnam signed a similar deal with Russia, paving the way for Russian firms to manufacture automobiles in Vietnam.