The EU and the Viet Nam Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs), established under the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement, met in a "DAG-to-DAG meeting" on 20 January 2026. The event started with a workshop on EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), discussing consequences for SMEs and farmers and how to navigate in this area.
The 14th meeting of the EU DAG under the EU-Viet Nam FTA, and the first meeting of the 2025–2028 term, took place on 6 November 2025.
During the meeting, the EU DAG elected its presidency for the 2025–2028 term and held a tour de table to introduce its members and the organisations they represent and their priorities for the work of the DAG.
It was likewise an opportunity for members to exchange with the European Commission and the EU Delegation in Hanoi on the EU-Viet Nam FTA in general and on the implementation of the TSD-chapter in particular, as well as prepare for the upcoming 2025 joint meetings with our Vietnamese counterparts to be held on 26-27 November 2025.
Discussions also covered the new Trade Union Law in Viet Nam and reporting from the dedicated ILO committee (CEACR) and a presentation related to a grievance mechanism initiative.
During the meeting, the EU DAG will receive an update from the European Commission's DG TRADE on EU-Vietnam FTA trade statistics and the implementation of the TSD chapter, as well as a report on the Joint Forum on Trade and Sustainable Development held in November 2024. Furthermore, EU DAG members will exchange with the European Parliament's standing rapporteur on Vietnam. Important features of the meeting will be the Commission’s assessment of the Vietnam Workers’ complaint to the Single Entry Point (SEP) and a discussion with the ILO.
The 11th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) under the EU-Vietnam FTA took place on 4 December 2024. The objective of the meeting was to follow up on the Joint Forum and plan the work of the DAG forward.
During the meeting, the EU DAG received an update from the European Commission's DG TRADE on EU-Vietnam trade relations in general and on the implementation of the TSD chapter of the EU-Vietnam FTA in particular, as well as information from DG INTPA on EU international cooperation and projects in Vietnam. EU DAG members reported back from various events, including EuroCham's Green Economy Forum & Exhibition (GEFE) 2024 and the EU-ASEAN Business Council's visit to Hanoi.
During the meeting, DG Trade updated the EU DAG on the EU-Vietnam FTA in general and on the implementation of the TSD-chapter in particular. The EU DAG discussed main challenges for companies related to due diligence legislation and how to take the work of the DAG on this topic further, the space for civil society in Vietnam based on the presentation of a recent report on Directive 24, and the issue of cat and dog meat trade and consumption in Vietnam from a health perspective. The members also exchanged views on the DAG's priorities for this mandate.
The 3rd meeting of the EU and the Vietnam Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs), "DAG-to-DAG meeting", established under the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, took place on 27-28 November 2023. The event started with a workshop on Improving workers' rights and access to remedy and grievance mechanisms, and the agenda of the meeting itself included discussions on due diligence, on the situation for small coffee producers and farmers in Vietnam, on the implementation of the Vietnamese Work Plan on Labour Rights and the state of play of the ratification of ILO fundamental conventions by the EU member states and Vietnam, on the right to association as an essential element of chapter 13, and on aquaculture welfare and responsible and sustainable fisheries.
The 7th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) under the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and the first meeting of the new 2023-25 term, took place on 18 September 2023.
The Vietnam DAG members, invited to Brussels by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), met the EU DAG members on 28 March 2023. The overarching objective of the visit was capacity building. It was an occasion for the members to exchange views on topical issues and on the work of the respective DAGs since the joint meetings in October 2022.
There was also a workshop on the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) with presentations of the institutional view.
This 6th meeting of the EU DAG for Vietnam was the occasion for the members who participated at the joint meetings in Hanoi on 18-20 October to report back to the EU DAG, and for the EU DAG to reflect on how to follow-up on those meetings.
The European Commission's DG TRADE reported from the 2nd meeting of the Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development and discussed the outcome of the Joint Forum with the EU DAG.
The EU DAG also discussed with the expert how to take the desk study on supply chains further.
The 2nd meeting of the EU and the Vietnam Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs), so called DAG-to-DAG meeting established under the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, took place on 18 October 2022. This was the first time the members of the respective DAGs met in person, and they exchanged views on the work of the DAGs since the last online meeting in 2021 and discussed the ratification of ILO conventions and global supply chains in the context of due diligence. You may find here the Joint statement. There was also a workshop on the energy transition and the preparations for COP-27.
During this meeting of the EU DAG for Vietnam, participants discussed the situation on the ground and labour law reform in Vietnam in the light of the ratification of the ILO Conventions, in presence of a representative from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
It was likewise an excellent opportunity for the EU DAG to receive a timely update from DG Trade on TSD-implementation and related issues, in particular the implementation of the labour rights roadmap, as well as information on the space for civil society in Vietnam.
The members of the EU DAG also further exchanged views on the experiences of their organisations with regard to TSD- issues in Vietnam.
Finally the drafting of a desk study on supply chains was discussed.
This meeting of the EU DAG for Vietnam focused on the future work of the EU DAG and the papers drafted by the working groups within the 2020-2023 mandate. The EU DAG also followed up on the first joint meeting with the Vietnamese civil society counterparts, which took place in November 2021. It was likewise an opportunity for the EU DAG to receive an update from DG Trade on TSD-related issues and implementation.
Additionally, Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Le Vinh Thang, from the Vietnamese Mission to the EU, participated in an exchange with the EU DAG members and shared his views on Vietnam's climate change commitments, in particular with regard to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's statement at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) envisages that DAG members of each Party meet together at a Civil Society Forum to conduct a dialogue encompassing sustainable development aspects of trade relations between the Parties.
This preparatory meeting took place ahead of the joint meetings with the Vietnamese counterparts scheduled for the second week of November. It also gave the EU DAG the opportunity to receive an update from DG Trade on the implementation of the FTA as well as a timely update on TSD-related issues and implementation.
This meeting was an excellent opportunity for a timely update by DG Trade on the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter under the FTA, as well as for a constructive exchange with the Director of the ILO office in Hanoi on the labour situation in Vietnam and the state of play of the roadmap.
Additionally, Ambassador Vu Anh Quang, from the Vietnamese Mission to the EU, participated in an exchange with the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) members to share his views on ongoing topics within the context of the EU Vietnam relations.
The members of the EU DAG, which is composed of representatives of employers' organisations, trade unions and various interest groups, also further discussed its work programme and prepared the upcoming joint meetings with its Vietnamese civil society counterparts.
On 28 May, nevertheless, after this EU DAG meeting and following the postponement of the joint EU-Vietnam meetings due to the fact that the Vietnam DAG had not been established yet, the members of the EU DAG issued a statement on the late cancellation of the first Trade and Sustainable Development Committee and the first Joint forum between European and Vietnamese civil society, which had been planned to take place in the first week of June 2021.
This was the first meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group (DAG), composed of representatives of employers' organisations, trade unions and various interest groups. At the meeting, the EU DAG received information from the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the EU relations with Vietnam and exchange with representatives of the European Commission's DG TRADE and the European Parliament on the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of the FTA. The EU DAG had also a first discussion on its work programme.
