The long awaited trade deal between the EU and Vietnam, EVNFTA, has already met with backlash from groups who say the deal fails to meet much of what it originally promised – particularly in terms of human rights and climate change.

The EU believes that one of the benefits of the FTA is that it will be an instrument to protect the environment and promote social progress.  It commits Vietnam to the Paris Agreement on climate change.  In addition, Vietnam has agreed to a bill that will abolish forced labor by 2020, as well as a bill that would allow freedom of association by 2023.

However early February a group 28 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Alliance for Independence and Democracy of Vietnam and Christian Solidarity Worldwide called on the European Parliament not to ratify the agreement until its concerns had been met. 

The EU went ahead and ratified the bill on February 12.

Critics point to benchmarks established in article 21 of the Treaty of the European Union that they say need to be met prior to the EU consenting to bilateral trade deals.

As an example, they bring up the EU-Turkmenistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which the EU refused to ratify last year because of the country’s failure to make progress in human rights and the rule of law.

“Legally enforceable sustainability standards are still nowhere to be found,” Anna Cavazzini, a MEP spokesperson on trade for the European Greens/European Free Alliance group, told local media.

However the EU feels that the FTA can be an instrument to bring about positive changes in Vietnam.  According to Phil Hogan, European Commissioner for Trade, Vietnam has already made “great efforts” to improve its labor rights as a result of the talks leading up to the FTA.  He stated that the trade agreement would enable the EU to further monitor and encourage greater reforms.