During his visit to Vietnam, European Council President Antonio Costa announced that the two sides had elevated their diplomatic relations to the highest level, that of a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’.  Although this largely diplomatic move does not involve binding commitments, it is politically significant at a time when both the EU and Vietnam face increasing customs duties on their exports to the US. For the EU, this agreement strengthens access to one of Asia's fastest-growing manufacturing hubs while supporting efforts to diversify supply chains in the face of rising trade tensions. This partnership provides an enhanced framework for cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, climate, energy, digitalisation, security, defence, human rights, people-to-people contacts, and multilateralism within the UN framework. This step marks the EU's first comprehensive strategic partnership in Southeast Asia.

President Costa stated, “At a time when the rules-based international order is under threat on many fronts, we need to stand together as reliable and predictable partners,’ emphasising that this partnership is aimed at ‘developing areas of shared prosperity.”

Chairperson Zeytinoğlu, sharing his views on the matter, stated that it was unacceptable for relations with Türkiye to remain stagnant at a time when the EU was strengthening its partnerships from Latin America to Asia:

“The EU has recently expanded its trade networks globally to cover regions with a population of nearly one billion 800 million through the Mercosur and India Agreements. In addition, it has completed STA negotiations with Indonesia. The Global Agreement with Mexico has been modernised. Contacts are being made to restart trade negotiations with Australia, which had been suspended. Taking these into account, the EU's free trade network is gradually expanding and consolidating with major trade players outside China and the US. Türkiye is in a customs union with the EU, which is a very advanced form of economic relationship. By its very nature, it needs to be updated to adapt to changes in trade. It is particularly important to begin the update process as soon as possible in today's increasingly competitive environment. Considering that negotiations may take a long time, we are actually talking about a process that should have begun much earlier. Türkiye and the EU must sit down at the table and make an effort to resolve the growing problems.”

Chairperson Zeytinoğlu also touched upon areas where the customs union needs to be updated:

"When we talk about updating the customs union, we are referring to modernising this 30-year-old process, or even 55 years if we include the transition period, in line with new conditions. First, we must resolve the dysfunctional aspects and problems of the customs union. In addition to issues such as the lack of effective dispute resolution mechanisms, the trade-restrictive effect of quotas imposed on lorries transporting export products to the EU, and visa barriers, resolving the issue of FTAs is particularly important. Türkiye needs to negotiate FTAs simultaneously with the EU and conduct negotiations that reflect its own conditions. Otherwise, protective measures will be taken against the trade-distorting and destructive effects of agreements such as the India FTA. This would create a situation contrary to the customs union. Secondly, we must review the customs union in line with today's new generation agreements and develop it to include issues such as trade in services, agriculture, public procurement, e-commerce and the environment. Otherwise, we will lose our advantages in the EU market and see a serious deterioration in our trade and investment relations with the EU.”

EU-Vietnam Relations

A Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Vietnam entered into force in 2020. The Investment Protection Agreement signed during the same process has not yet entered into force as it has not been ratified by all members.  In the first 11 months of 2025, bilateral trade volume increased by 6.6 per cent compared to the previous year, exceeding $66.8 billion. The EU is Vietnam's fourth largest trading partner, third largest export market and fifth largest source of imports. Vietnam is the EU's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

With multinational companies moving their production activities out of China, Vietnam has become a leading export hub for electronics, ready-to-wear clothing and consumer goods, making it one of the countries that has benefited most from globalisation. Despite the new 20 per cent customs duties imposed by the US, its largest export market, the country strengthened its position as a regional centre of attraction with an 8 per cent growth performance last year.

This export-driven growth both supported income growth and contributed to the transformation of the economic structure. However, Vietnam's high and persistent trade surplus is drawing criticism, particularly in the US and, increasingly, in Europe. European officials have voiced concerns about access to the Vietnamese market. Vietnam, which aims to join the ranks of high-income countries by 2045, is accelerating its efforts to enter new markets in order to reduce its dependence on the US market, which accounts for approximately 30 per cent of its exports.