Da Nang
Provincial performance in implementing free trade agreements
Overview of the result
Da Nang scored 23.20 out of 40, placing it in the “Fair” tier and ranking 14th of 34 provinces and cities — 1.54 points above the national average. The city's profile is defined by balance rather than a single dominant advantage: all four pillars are relatively close to the national mean, with implementation of legal documents for FTA commitments the strongest, at 1.14 points above average.
Detailed analysis by component index
Firms' knowledge of FTAs (A1, 13th) and the quality of FTA-related information on the local online portal (A9, 10th) are relatively favourable. However, the range of information-access channels (A3) ranks last nationally, while sources through which firms learn about FTA-related events (A6), the quality of those events (A7), and forecasting and import-export market-orientation information (A8) all fall in the 20th–25th band. Firms have a basic awareness of FTAs, but the delivery system still lacks coverage and does not meet the needs of different firm groups evenly.
Conferences and seminars reach 68.1% of firms, social media 60.4%, and training courses and web portals 50.5% each. Medium-sized and FDI firms draw on a diverse mix of channels, whereas small firms rely heavily on social media and rarely join formal training. About 48.8% of firms consider information from central and local agencies to meet most or all of their needs — rising to 59–69% among large and FDI firms but falling to roughly 30–32% among SMEs. Speaker expertise draws 83.3% positive ratings, yet relevance to business operations and level of interaction reach only 46.3% and 40.3%.
This is Da Nang's strongest pillar. Firms' understanding of legal documents (B1) and local authorities' uptake of enterprise feedback (B7) both rank 11th; the quality of guidance on those documents (B3) ranks 12th and the complexity of compliance (B4) 14th. Participation in training (B5, 18th) and policy feedback and consultation (B6, 20th) score lower but remain close to the national norm.
Around 55.6–58.2% of firms report a clear understanding of tariff preferences and rules of origin, but only 27.5–31.1% understand SPS, environmental, intellectual property and TBT provisions. Guidance activities reach roughly 21–43% of firms, with the thinnest coverage in SPS, TBT and environment. Despite a reasonable awareness base, 51–68% of firms still regard the main legal areas as complex. Medium-sized firms report the greatest difficulty with SPS, TBT, intellectual property and rules of origin, while large and FDI firms point mainly to trade remedies, labour and environment.
Access to competitiveness support policies (C6) and the effectiveness of support policy implementation by local state management agencies (C7) both rank 17th, while self-assessed FTA utilisation (C1) ranks 19th — all close to the national average. However, the number of commitment groups utilised (C4) and barriers to FTA utilisation (C5) both rank 31st, and the capacity to meet firms' support needs (C8) ranks 26th. Firms do engage with FTAs, but the breadth of utilisation and the depth of specialised support remain limited.
Utilisation concentrates in traditional areas: tariff preferences (84.6%) and rules of origin (79.1%). Apart from trade remedies, no newer commitment is widely exploited — fewer than 25% of firms report using them, and utilisation of SPS and TBT provisions reaches only 2.2%. Training, trade promotion and administrative-procedure support draw 53–68% positive ratings, but support for technology, branding, finance, connection with foreign partners and trade remedies reaches only 24–33%. Promotion programmes rate well on materials and relevance (47–50%), yet only 32.8% of firms report an actual commercial outcome — a partner found or a contract signed — afterwards.
The effectiveness of support from local authorities (D4, 18th) is the indicator closest to the national mean. Knowledge of sustainable development commitments (D1) ranks 20th and forms of support for compliance (D6) 21st, while the perceived impact of sustainable development commitments on business operations (D2) and readiness to comply (D3) both rank 22nd. Perceived importance of complying with import-market sustainability requirements (D5) ranks 24th. The pillar shows no severe weakness, but it has not yet produced a distinctive advantage either.
Around 49–55% of firms understand the general labour and environmental commitments, but only 22–28% understand EUDR, CSDDD, CBAM and the circular economy. Perceived exposure differs sharply by ownership: FDI firms report far greater impact than domestic private firms on environmental rules (44.1% vs 6.2%), labour (33.3% vs 10.4%) and CBAM (18.2% vs 2.1%). Readiness reaches 67% for environmental requirements and 58.4% for labour, but only 30–35% for the more specialised ones. Support from local agencies draws 43–60% positive ratings, while roughly 27–30% of FDI firms report receiving no support in several specialised areas.