On 9 July 2014, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in partnership with Center for Education and Development (CED), organized a training workshop for the media on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and trade (FLEGT) and Voluntarily Partnership Agreement (VPA). EU markets account for 30% of the total value of the timber exports market from Vietnam and now it has placed new regulations requiring that all timber and timber products entering EU markets are produced from legal sources as part of FLEGT plan. Producing countries, such as Vietnam will have to enter the VPA with the EU as part of the FLEGT action plan. Under which, Vietnamese timber export companies only can export legal timbers and timber products to the EU in accordance with Vietnamese laws and regulations, and as the process and steps set out in VPA.
However, according to an assessment conducted by CED in April, after interviews with 81 businesses and related stakeholders, including more than 60 Vietnamese timber processing businesses, only 57% of them had heard about FLEGT VPA, and 75% of them do not know its contents. It is noted that 73% of these enterprises are producing indoor and outdoor furniture and, exports to EU markets account for 51% of their total export value.