EU tariff phase-out makes 99% of Vietnam exports eligible for duty-free entry
Bilateral trade rose 23.2% year on year to €52.6 billion in January–July 2026, while Vietnam will continue reducing tariffs on EU goods through 2030.
The European Union finished its scheduled tariff removal under the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in August 2026, leaving 99% of Vietnamese exports eligible for entry without duties. Vietnam’s tariff reductions for goods from the bloc will continue through 2030.
Trade between the two sides amounted to €52.6 billion during January–July 2026, a 23.2% increase from a year earlier. The Vietnam Trade Office in Belgium and the EU, citing EU figures, put Vietnamese exports at €45.6 billion and imports at €7 billion.
Eurostat recorded €76 billion in bilateral trade for 2025, approximately 67% above the level in 2019, before the agreement began operating in August 2020. EU purchases from Vietnam increased 16% to €63.9 billion. Machinery and electrical equipment represented €33.8 billion, while agricultural products generated €4.5 billion, an increase exceeding 40%.
The trade gap also grew. In 2025, EU sales to Vietnam dropped 1% to €12.2 billion, and the bloc’s deficit in goods trade reached €51.7 billion. EuroCham Vice Chairman Jean-Jacques Bouflet said buying more European pharmaceuticals, technology and machinery could improve the balance and strengthen Vietnamese industry’s competitiveness.
Companies face stricter European requirements, including the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and EU Deforestation Regulation. The bloc also retains its fisheries “yellow card” over illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Separately, ratification of the EU–Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement remains incomplete, with approval still required from all member states.
