Clam processing at Lenger Seafoods Vietnam Co. Việt Nam and the UK saw impressive growth in their two-way trade though exports faced formidable challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — After the UK-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) took effect on December 31, 2020, both sides saw impressive growth in their two-way trade though exports faced formidable challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics from the General Department of Việt Nam Customs showed that total trade in goods between the two nations topped US$657.35 million in January, a year-on-year hike of 78.57 per cent. The Ministry of Industry and Trade described it as an impressive growth, particularly in the context of COVID-19. Notably, Việt Nam’s shipments to the European country hit $598.07 million, or 84.61 per cent higher than the same time last year, and 56.51 per cent higher than December 2020. Exports of agricultural products maintained stable growth in the month, with export revenue of seafood surging 18.1 per cent to $19.72 million, and fruits and vegetables rising 148.6 per cent to $1.04 million. Under the UK trade deal, tariffs levied on Vietnamese shrimp materials is reduced from 10-20 per cent to zero per cent, while more than 94 per cent of 547 tariff lines on Vietnamese fruits and vegetables will be cut to zero per cent. Experts said a wide range of Vietnamese fruits like lychee, longan, dragon fruit, pineapple and rambutan will hold more advantages to access the UK market over those from Brazil, Thailand and Malaysia who have not clinched an FTA with the European country. Việt Nam also saw strong increase in its shipments of telephone and parts (up 371.6 per cent to $252.59 million); machines, equipment and parts (up 109.9 per cent to US$74.58 million); computers and parts (up 91 per cent to $31.82 million), among others. Meanwhile, Việt Nam spent $59.297 million on imports from the UK, up 34.3 per cent year-on-year. Last year, total …
Trade deficit w mexico
HCMC’s imports and exports soar in Jan-Feb period
HCMC’s imports and exports soar in Jan-Feb period The Saigon Times A container ship docks at the Tan Cang-Cai Mep Terminal. HCMC recorded an increase in both imports and exports in the first two months of 2021 – PHOTO: VNA HCMC – HCMC earned nearly US$8 billion in export revenue and spent US$10.92 billion on imports in the first two months of the year, rising over 25% and 53% against last year’s figures, respectively, according to the HCMC Department of Statistics. Without crude oil, the city’s export revenue would amount to US$7.6 billion, up over 26% year-on-year. Specifically, in the two-month period, the city exported wood and wooden products worth over US$220 million, up over 60% versus last year’s figure. The export of machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts fetched US$400 million, up 23%; computers, electronics and accessories saw US$2.57 billion, up over 11% and rice saw US$135 million, improving over 5%. The city’s imports of plastic materials in the year to February surged 52%, fuel products were up by 44% and garment-leather-footwear materials by 16%. Further, China remained HCMC’s largest trade partner. Businesses in the city exported nearly US$1.8 billion and purchased some US$3.3 billion worth of goods to and from China, up some 31% and 78%, respectively, over the figures recorded in the same period last year. The United States was the second largest importer of the city, followed by Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, Singapore was the city’s biggest exporter. …
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US, EU say vaccine programs on track as global deaths hit 2.5 mn
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 25: Lorraine Harvey, an in home care worker, receives her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from registered nurse Rudolfo Garcia at a clinic at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South Los Angeles on February 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. African Americans and Latinos comprise a majority of the South LA community and are dying of COVID-19 at a rate significantly higher than whites. Vaccine equity has also lagged in South Los Angeles relative to some more wealthy areas. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP) Brazil hit 250,000 fatalities -- the second-highest national death toll after the US -- while the worldwide vaccine campaign received the royal endorsement of Queen Elizabeth II, 94, who urged people not to be wary of the injection. President Joe Biden declared the US rollout is now "weeks ahead of schedule" as he celebrated 50 million vaccines administered since he took office on January 20, but he warned Americans to keep masking up. "We're moving in the right direction despite the mess we inherited," Biden said, referring to the program under his predecessor Donald Trump. The United States is the world's hardest-hit country, with coronavirus deaths crossing the 500,000 mark earlier this week. Biden said that there would be "enough supply" for all adult Americans by the end of July. The EU announced Thursday it expected to vaccinate 70 percent of adults by the end of the summer, after months of problems and friction. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said fully vaccinating just under three-quarters of adults by late summer was a "goal that we're confident with." But in Brazil, the grim quarter-million deaths milestone came one year after the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in the country, which is struggling with severe vaccine shortages and a devastating second wave. - Mass graves - The coronavirus has hit especially hard in Brazil's impoverished "favelas," among indigenous …
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