Forum provides analyses to develop Vietnam – US trade and investment relations

The Vietnam-US Trade Forum 2021, discussing cooperation prospects, investment relations in various sectors and measures to develop the Vietnam-US trade in the new context, took place on December 7, in both face-to-face and online forms.

Overview of the forum in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)
Overview of the forum in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

Co-organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi (AmCham Hanoi) and the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), the event aims to provide information and updates on orientations to develop policies for economic development, trade and investment between Vietnam and the US. Its goal is also to create motivation for the business communities of the two nations and to develop strategies for approaching and expanding import and export markets towards balance and sustainability.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai emphasised that the US is identified as one of Vietnam's leading partners on all pillars of cooperation.

Among them, the pillar of economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and the US has shown great achievements, contributing to bring the overall comprehensive partnership into depth and substance, meeting the benefits of the Government, people and business communities for the two countries.

Statistics show that the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the US has increased 168 times. From 450 million USD in 1995, when the two countries established diplomatic relations to 1.5 billion USD in 2001, when the two countries signed the bilateral trade agreement, and reached 90.8 billion USD in 2020, an increase of 19.9% compared to 2019.

This success is achieved thanks to the efforts of the Governments and business communities of the two countries and their coordination and focus on timely and effective settlements of priority trade issues. This includes opening markets for each other's agricultural products, industrial goods, information technology services, creating a favourable business and investment environment, promoting the signing of many large projects and commercial contracts.

Notably, US investors also invested in more than 20 economic sectors, ranking 11th among the top investors in Vietnam. Most of the largest US corporations have a presence in Vietnam, such as Exxon Mobil, Murphy Oil, Chevron, Boeing, Ford, Intel, Wal-Mart, Nike, Amazon and P&G.

Many US investors consider Vietnam to become an ideal, important and safe investment location within the global supply chain.
In order to realise the goal between the two countries, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said that it is necessary to promote the policy dialogue mechanisms of the Vietnam-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in order to create a favourable legal framework, promote trade and investment exchanges, and promptly solve arising difficulties in the economic and trade fields.

At the seminars, the speakers also gave insightful comments on the new policy trends of the two countries. At the same time they offered solutions to develop import and export while attracting the US supply chain in the "new normal" and in the "new context" to promote trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and the US in the future.