Once ratified by the Vietnamese National Assembly, expected by the beginning of this summer, the deal will officially take effect.

Croatia’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman said this agreement is the second with a Southeast Asian country after Singapore and the most ambitious free trade agreement ever concluded with a developing country.

The agreement will eliminate 99% of customs duties between the two blocs. 65% of duties on EU exports to Vietnam will disappear as soon as the agreement takes effect, with the remainder phasing out gradually over a period of 10 years. The agreement will also reduce many of the existing non-tariff barriers to trade with Vietnam and open up Vietnamese services and public procurement markets to EU companies.