Ha Noi
Provincial performance in implementing free trade agreements
Overview of the result
Ha Noi scored 25.39 out of 40, placing it in the “Fair” tier and ranking 9th of 34 provinces and cities — above the national average by 3.73 points . All four pillars score above the mean, yet the ranks span only 7th to 13th. Ha Noi's strengths concentrate in forecasting and market-orientation information, understanding of legal documents, and firms' capacity to exploit FTAs. Official information channels, participation in training and policy feedback, trade promotion activity, and readiness to meet sustainable development requirements all remain limited. Ha Noi's challenge is not a shortage of resources but the ability to convert isolated advantages into system-wide implementation capacity.
Detailed analysis by component index
Quality of export forecasting and market-orientation information (A8) is the standout indicator, ranking 6th nationally. Firms' knowledge of FTAs (A1, 12th) and the range of channels through which enterprises access FTA information (A3, 11th) also come in above average. However, the quality of FTA-related information on the local online portal (A9) and the frequency of participation in FTA-related events (A5) both rank 21st, while information provided by local authorities (A2) ranks only 25th. Ha Noi therefore has reasonably good market information, but its official delivery channels do not reach firms widely or regularly enough.
Press and television are the most widely used channels, reaching 78.6% of enterprises, followed by conferences and seminars (63.4%) and online information portals (57.1%). Access patterns vary markedly across enterprise groups: 84.6% of small enterprises rely primarily on social media, whereas 85.7% of large enterprises and 90.9% of FDI enterprises obtain information through online portals. However, fewer than half of enterprises consider FTA information to meet most or all of their needs. Information provided by central authorities receives more positive assessments than information from provincial authorities (45.3% versus 37.4%). Engagement also remains limited, with only 13.9% of enterprises participating in FTA-related events regularly or very regularly. For trade forecasts, reliability receives the strongest positive rating (63.3%), while timeliness performs considerably worse (45.3%).
Understanding of the legal documents (B1) ranks 7th, and the quality of legal guidance (B3) ranks 11th. Participation in training on legal documents (B5), business feedback and consultation (B6), and local authorities’ uptake of enterprise feedback (B7) rank only 22nd to 24th. Ha Noi thus has a reasonably solid base of legal understanding, but firms’ involvement in implementing and refining policy does not match it.
Understanding varies considerably by area. Only about 45.8–48.1% of firms have a clear grasp of tariff preferences and rules of origin; the share falls to 29.3–42.7% for SPS, TBT, intellectual property, trade remedies, and labour and environmental rules. Regular guidance reaches under 30% of firms in every area, and just 15.1% and 21.2% for environment and intellectual property respectively. Meanwhile some 55–73% of firms still regard the legal rules as largely complex. Small firms struggle most with SPS and environment, while large and FDI firms also report a substantial burden around SPS, TBT, intellectual property, tariffs and rules of origin.
Ha Noi firms show a relatively strong capacity to exploit FTAs, with barriers to utilisation (C5) ranking 5th, the range of FTA utilisation activities (C3) ranking 6th and the FTA commitment groups utilised (C4) ranking 7th. Access to support policies (C6), however, ranks only 22nd, and participation in trade promotion (C9.1) ranks 24th. FTA utilisation therefore rests mainly on firms’ own initiative, while the local support system plays a limited enabling role.
Utilisation concentrates on tariff preferences (71.4%) and rules of origin (69.3%), while TBT reaches just 9.7% and SPS 14.7%. Among barriers, 48.3% of firms cite a lack of FTA market information, 40.3% do not clearly understand the commitments, and 37% lack access to partners or reliable advice. Support needs centre on trade promotion (65.1%), dedicated support for firms already exporting to or importing from FTA markets (59.7%), and training on rules of origin and FTA procedures (55.5%). FDI firms are particularly interested in direct import-export support, while small firms prioritise capital and access to credit.
The forms of support helping firms comply with sustainable development commitments (D6) ranks 9th. Self-assessed knowledge of sustainable development commitments (D1, 15th) and perceived impact of those commitments on business operations (D2, 14th) are moderate. Readiness to comply with sustainable development commitments (D3), however, ranks only 21st, while the effectiveness of support from local authorities (D4) and the perceived importance of complying with import-market sustainable development commitments (D5) both rank 22nd. The result exposes a gap between awareness and action: firms have begun to recognise the requirements but have not fully turned them into plans and real compliance capacity.
About 52% of firms understand the labour and environmental commitments, but the share falls to 24.5–40.9% for biodiversity, sustainable forest management, CITES, EUDR, SCDDD, CBAM and the circular economy. Some 58–60% have begun preparing for the labour and environmental commitments, yet readiness runs below 45% across every specialised area and reaches just 29.5% for CBAM. Support from local authorities is rated best on labour (61.6%) and environment (60%), but only around 32–40% on newer or more specialised requirements. FDI firms report a substantial support gap, with up to 45.5% receiving no support in some areas.