India may soon grant market economy status to Vietnam

The Cabinet is expected to take up the issue of granting market economy status to Vietnam soon, a move that will see the Southeast Asian nation joining the India-Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

“...It is under active consideration... Cabinet is likely to take up the issue soon,” an official said.

Vietnam, a member of Association of South East Asian Nation (Asean) bloc, had not signed FTA with India in Thailand on August 13.

Recently, Vietnam’s vice-president, Nguyen Thi Doan, who had a meeting with External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, had indicated her country’s joining the India-Asean FTA would depend on New Delhi recognising Vietnam as a market economy.

In a market economy, input and output prices are determined by market forces to make the process transparent. China, Australia, Japan and New Zealand have already acknowledged Vietnam as a market economy.