Tuyen Quang
Provincial performance in implementing free trade agreements
Overview of the result
Tuyen Quang ranks 2nd of 34 provinces and cities, in the “Good” tier and behind only Hai Phong. The province scores 11.95 points above the national average, with all four pillars in the leading group, ranked between 2nd and 6th. That is a striking result for a northern mountainous province with a small economy whose exports rest largely on forestry. It shows that disadvantages of location and scale can be overcome where local government runs policy that is proactive, focused and close to business. Tuyen Quang leads the country on the quality of information supplied, on enterprise feedback on legal documents related to FTA commitments, and on understanding of sustainable development commitments; 12 indicators also rank 2nd. The province could reach the “Very good” tier if it clears two bottlenecks: the narrow range of FTA utilisation activities (32nd) and the barriers firms still meet when exploiting FTAs (20th). It also needs to keep narrowing the gap in legal understanding between firm groups.
Detailed analysis by component index
This is one of the strongest pillars in the country, with almost every indicator in the leading group. The quality of FTA information relative to business needs (A4) ranks 1st; knowledge of FTAs (A1), the channels through which enterprises access information on FTAs (A3), frequency of participation in FTA events (A5), sources of information on FTA-related events (A6) and the quality of FTA-related events (A7) all rank 2nd. Forecasting and market-orientation information from local authorities (A8) and The quality of FTA-related information on the online portal (A9) both rank 5th, and FTA-related information provided directly by the authorities (A2) ranks 6th.
The traditional channels have very wide reach: press and television reach 94.7% of firms, while conferences, training and web portals each reach over 80%. Digital coverage is uneven, however, with social media at 44.7% and the local Zalo Official Account at just 7.9%. As many as 91.9% of firms say information from both central and local authorities meets most or all of their needs. Over 91% rate every aspect of the communication events positively, while 94.4% rate the forecasting information good or very good on all four quality dimensions.
This is Tuyen Quang's best pillar, with every indicator in the national top 10. Enterprise feedback on legal documents related to FTA commitments (B6) ranks first nationally. The quality of guidance on legal documents (B3), complexity of compliance (B4), participation in training on legal documents (B5) and the uptake of enterprise feedback by local authorities (B7) all rank 2nd. The frequency of guidance (B2) ranks 3rd, and enterprises' understanding of legal documents (B1) ranks 8th.
About 76–82% of firms have a clear grasp of the main legal areas and 84–87% receive local government guidance regularly. Some 89% rate that guidance good or very good, rising to 100% among large and FDI firms. Understanding is not entirely even, however: only 55.6% of medium-sized firms have a clear grasp of the intellectual property, labour and environmental rules. Around 26–32% of firms still find the rules complex, SPS, TBT and intellectual property above all. State-owned firms lag private domestic and FDI firms in their understanding of the rules, while small firms still report relatively positive support for implementing specific commitments.
Effectiveness of support policies and programmes implemented by local authorities (C7) and the frequency and quality of trade promotion (C9.1 and C9.2) all rank 2nd. The need for FTA support programmes and policies (C8) ranks 3rd, FTA utilisation (C1) ranks 4th, access to competitiveness support policies (C6) ranks 5th, and FTA commitments utilised (C4) ranks 6th. Tuyen Quang has therefore built a support ecosystem of high quality, wide coverage and real effect.
The striking anomaly is that the FTA utilisation activities (C3) ranks only 32nd — firms exploit FTAs actively but stay within a few familiar routes such as import-export and processing, rather than working through export support activity. As in many provinces, utilisation centres on tariff preferences (76.3%), trade remedies (60.5%) and rules of origin (47.4%). Limited technological capacity (57.9%) and a shortage of capital (44.7%) are the two most common barriers, especially among private domestic firms. FDI firms struggle more with FTA partners' technical standards and with rules of origin.
Enterprises' understanding of sustainable development commitments (D1) ranks first nationally. That is a particularly important base for forestry-dependent exporters as traceability, CITES forest protection and EUDR requirements tighten. Understanding runs from 78.9% to 86.8% across every sustainability area; FDI firms reach 100% and large firms 91.7%. The widest gap among private domestic firms is on CBAM and the circular economy, both at 66.7%.
Readiness is also strong, with about 82–84% of firms having started planning, implementing or otherwise able to meet the main requirements. The specific forms of support from local authorities draw 89.5–92.1% positive ratings, and almost every firm reports having reached support. Only about 13–16%, however, see the sustainability requirements as having a large effect on their business. Firms are therefore well informed and well prepared, but have not fully recognised what compliance is worth commercially — for markets, brand and supply chains.