Economic Section

WTO And Other International Economic Organizations That Impact Vietnam

As the world trade system has grown and produced increasing benefits for nearly every country, there has been a growing awareness of the need for international and regional fora in which issues that arise in global economic development and trade can be discussed and agreements reached to widen and deepen international economic integration. The World Trade Organization (WTO), founded in 1995, has 143 members and covers a broad array of issues as well as providing a formal mechanism for dispute settlement. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has grown to include some 22 countries/member economies, including Vietnam, and also provides a forum in which economic integration and trade liberalization issues are discussed and agreements reached to expand that integration. ASEAN, of which Vietnam is also a member, also has taken strong measures to expand trade and investment liberalization, with its ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and ASEAN Investment Agreement (AIA). All three of these organizations are involved in a broad array of initiatives to liberalize economic interaction between member economies and provide technical assistance to member economies that need help bringing their trade and investment regimes into conformity with international standards. For further information, links to resources on these organizations are provided below.

 

Resources on WTO

• WTO homepage

• WTO's newsletter

Resources on APEC

• APEC homepage

• Articles on APEC

• APEC bussiness resources

Resources on ASEAN

• ASEAN homepage

• ASEAN-related sites

• Articles on ASEAN

• AFTA Web-page

Others

• National Database of Economic Integration