European Union Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič’s visit to Vietnam this week comes amid growing concerns over the country’s violations of the 2020 EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its unfulfilled commitments to human and labor rights. Human Rights Watch and other organizations had warned EU officials prior to the EVFTA’s ratification that Vietnam’s rights record was poor, but EU authorities argued the agreement would incentivize reforms. Since the agreement took effect, Vietnam has not made significant changes and has instead intensified restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
Vietnam has failed to ratify a key labor rights convention requiring the registration and operation of independent trade unions, despite pledging to do so by the end of 2023. Modest legal changes to allow independent “worker representative organizations” have not been implemented, and even if they were, such groups would face severe limitations, including mandatory affiliation with the government-controlled Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. The government has openly rejected independent unions, labeling them as “hostile forces,” and a 2023 Communist Party directive called for increased scrutiny of labor groups, civil society, and foreign organizations in relation to trade agreements.
High-profile arrests have underscored Vietnam’s crackdown on labor and human rights advocates. In 2021, journalist Pham Chi Dung was sentenced to 15 years in prison partly for opposing the EVFTA in the European Parliament. Labor rights activists Mai Phan Loi and Dang Dinh Bach were arrested after attempting to participate in the EVFTA’s Domestic Advisory Group, and in April 2024, senior officials Nguyen Van Binh and Vu Minh Tien were detained for advocating reforms.
In April 2025, multiple human rights and labor organizations filed formal complaints with the EU, asserting that Vietnam had violated the labor and human rights provisions of the EVFTA. Human Rights Watch urges the EU to act on these complaints, enforce punitive measures, and push Vietnam toward implementing long-overdue reforms.
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