EAEU - VIETNAM FOREIGN TRADE: FIRST RESULTS OF THE FREE TRADE ZONE FUNCTIONING
The article analyses the impact of the Free trade agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam entered into force on 5 October 2016 to their trade relations in the first months of the Agreement implementation. The analysis revealed mutually beneficial nature of the document. Growth rates of trade turnover increased in January-June 2017 compared with the same period of 2016. At the same time growth rate of imports of the EAEU Member States from Vietnam is more significant than this one of exports, while exports grew faster than imports in the EAEA trade with third countries. This trend is particularly noticeable with regard to Russia, whose import growth rates from Vietnam rose by one-third, while exports slightly declined. This suggests that Vietnam gets more benefits from the free trade zone than the EAEU for a while. The structure of foreign trade, both of exports and imports, changed, mainly for items where customs duties have been reduced zero or run down.