Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture No. 3/06
Agricultural policy and trade of Vietnam in preparation to join the WTO
Hoa Nguyen
National Economics University, Ha Noi, Vietnam
Ulrike Grote
Center for Development Research (ZEF), Bonn, Germany
Abstract
The debate about agricultural trade is one of the hottest negotiated
issues in the World Trade Organization (WTO). While developed members
of the WTO remain reluctant in committing reduction of support for
their agricultural sector, many acceding countries from the developing
world have been required to liberalize their agricultural sectors in a
fast way. Vietnam is one of the cases. As a result of the economic
reform initiated in 1986, the Vietnamese agricultural sector has
experienced positive development becoming a leading exporter of several
products in the world market. Within the reform, constraints on
agricultural production and trade have been gradually removed.
Currently, the agricultural policy is generally liberal. Support to
agriculture via market border measures or budgetary payments remains at
a modest level. Nevertheless, Vietnam has been facing onerous
requirements by WTO members in accession negotiation. Since July 1998,
Vietnam has been involved in multilateral negotiations, focusing on
complying with WTO rules. In total, 27 WTO members expressed interest
in negotiating with Vietnam bilaterally. This large number implies that
many countries and territories are concerned with and/or interested in
trading with Vietnam. To be able to cope with the competition, a lot of
attention needs to be paid to the quality of Vietnamese agricultural
products so that the producers can sustain or even enhance their
competitiveness in international trade.
Keywords: agricultural policy, trade, WTO negotiation, Vietnam
JEL: Q 170
Vol. 45 (2006), No. 3: 269-286