On the 1st of August 2020, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) entered into force since its ratification by the European Commission. The act signifies another step of Vietnam not only into the global market economy, but also into the international labour regime and standards since its historic 1986 ‘Renovation’ reforms that opened the country. With upcoming initiatives for economic rebound in a post-pandemic Europe and Vietnam, an examination of existing trade union landscape in Vietnam and effects of the new Labour Code, entered into force since 1st of January 2021, is in order.

From East Germany to West Germany and Vietnam to world trade—both represent assimilations of socialist states to global capitalism with widespread consequences at around the same time. The relevance goes deeper than a surface parallel with Vietnam’s unification in 1975: Germany and Vietnam hold more intimate ties in contemporary history, with both cooperating on many different fronts, from economy, international relations, to policy and legal training. Within such historical and political contexts, a comparison of Vietnamese and German trade union laws is well-merited to chart a tentative path forward for Vietnamese labour relations, given the continued cooperation between the two countries.