HANOI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Some 5,000 tariff lines will be cut down to zero after a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) took effect on Oct. 5.
The tax cuts will be implemented in three phases from now to the end of 2018, which is in accordance with Vietnam special import list for 2016-2018 period, reported the state-run news agency VNA on Friday.
Specifically, by the end of 2017, import taxes on 4,959 types of goods will drop to zero through the FTA between Vietnam and the EEU.
Products set to enjoy the tariff cuts include materials for production and processing such as footwear, garment-textile, seafood, electronic spare parts and products, agricultural products and steel among others.
In 2018, as many as 144 more tariff lines will be eliminated, increasing the number of zero-tax lines to 5,103.
The EEU, which groups Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, signed the FTA with Vietnam in May 2015, the first of its kind between the EEU and an external partner.
