By signing a series of free trade agreements, Vietnam hopes to create a large playing field for its textile and garment enterprises. Among these are: the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) bloc. Vietnam’s fabric and yarn enterprises are waiting for EVFTA to take effect to boost exports to the EU. The agreement stipulates strict requirements of product origin in order to enjoy trade preferences. Textile and garment exports to the EU must be produced with fabrics made in Vietnam, and tailored in Vietnam or Europe. According to the CPTPP, all three production stages of fabric spinning, knitting and completion must be done in a CPTPP country. This requires Vietnam to build a domestic textile and garment material supply chain.

The textile and garment industry is stepping up its sustainable development strategy implementation to meet the requirements of major foreign markets. Manufacturers in the sector have applied advanced science and technology to green the industry, apart from training human resources.

Vietnam’s earnings from textile and garment exports have grown 10.19 per cent. Vietnam is the biggest textile and garment exporter in Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The US is the largest importer of Vietnamese textiles and garments, followed by the EU and China.