Under the agreement, Japan pledges to liberalize 94.53 percent of trade revenues within 10 years and to impose tax rates on industrial commodities at 0-5 percent, said Le Trieu Dung, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Japan will also cut tariffs on agricultural, forestry and aquatic products, he said.

The country will gradually remove all taxes on pepper and maze in the next five to seven years. Vietnamese shrimps exported to Japan will also enjoy no taxes, Mr Dung added, as well as Vietnamese cuttlefish and octopuses in the next five years.

Addressing the seminar, Ken Arakawa, a senior advisor at the Japan External Trade Organization, stressed that the Japanese Government has always highly valued the Vietnamese market and considers Vietnam a very reliable partner.

Mr Arakawa maintained that the Japanese Government has tried to create the best possible conditions for Japanese investors to do business in Vietnam, especially in training human resources and upgrading the economic infrastructure. Japan is so far one of the first and largest investors in Vietnam, he said.

However, Vietnamese goods have not been successful in penetrating the Japanese market, said Tran Ba Cuong from the Export-Import Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. He said that the ministry recommends businesses hammer out long-term strategies to invest in production and boost trade promotions as well as improving the designs of goods for export.