Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade Tran Tuan Anh recently issued an urgent directive on measures to bolster exports and imports in light of major economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. He ordered departments to work with industry associations to learn about local firms’ material supply capacity and propose measures to look for alternative sources. Several industries in the country like automobile, garment, footwear and electronics, are facing raw material shortage due to the outbreak in China and other countries. The directive also asked the concerned agencies to facilitate enterprises to take advantage of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement while calling for an assessment of the export growth potential of Vietnamese goods to offset falling exports resulting from the virus outbreak. The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency has been asked to step up its efforts to look for new markets for the country’s agricultural produce and seafood, whose exports have been hit by the epidemic, according to a Vietnamese newspaper report. Vietnamese trade missions abroad are also required to support local enterprises to connect with foreign partners that can supply medical equipment and materials.
