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Imports from Japan to rise
Traders are planning to increase their import of goods from Japan when the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement takes effect on October 1.
From the beginning of next month, thousands of Japanese imported goods, including industrial, agricultural, forestry and seafood ones, will enjoy either a tax exemption or a sharp reduction.
Japanese goods are already widely regarded by Vietnamese consumers as being high-quality products; however, importers have not imported many goods directly from Japan due to their high prices and taxes. Most Japanese goods imported to Viet Nam are produced in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia or China.
Therefore, such tax exemptions and reductions would create a major opportunity to help traders meet the demands of local customers who preferred Japanese goods, especially high-tech ones, industry insiders said.
Lien An Thach, business director of the Cho Lon Electronic Supermarket, said that his company would increase its imports from Japan to meet the increasing domestic demand.
An electronics shop owner on Hai Ba Trung Street said that a Japanese 32-inch LCD made in Viet Nam, for example, was currently priced at roughly VND7million (US$391) while the same television imported from Japan cost about VND10 million ($558.7).
"After import taxes and VAT, the imported television will cost about VND11.5 million ($642.5), which is affordable for many domestic consumers," said the retailer.
A director of an auto dealership, who declined to be named, said that the tax cut would significantly impact the auto industry, as high-quality parts and components imported from Japan would see sharp tax cuts. Some of these parts and components would even see a complete tax exemption, he said.
Director of Vuong Quynh Chemicals Trading Company Ly Van Ngoc predicted that traders in the chemical industry might greatly increase their imports from Japan when the tax cuts took effect. Previously, importers had to restrict their imports of chemical products from Japan due to high tax rates, Quynh said.
It was estimated that roughly 40,000 Japanese products were already being sold on the domestic market, and the figure was expected to sharply rise after the agreement took effect.
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