Since the normalisation of bilateral relations in 1995, economic and trade ties between Vietnam and the US have seen great progress, with two-way trade hitting an all-time high of 90.8 billion USD in 2020, up 19.8 percent year-on-year, despite serious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
US Vice President Kamala Harris’s ongoing visit to Vietnam is expected to open up new business and investment opportunities for the two countries’ enterprises. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), since the Vietnam - US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) took effect in December 2001, two-way trade has continuously increased.
Bilateral trade was maintained in the first seven months of 2021 as the US continued to be Vietnam 's largest importer with a turnover of 53.7 billion USD, up 37.7 percent year-on-year. Vietnam mainly shipped machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts to the US.
Therefore, despite being affected by the pandemic, the country's revenue from exporting these items to the US still reached 12.2 billion USD last year, up 141.5 percent compared to 2019. In the 2016-2020 period, exports of these products to this market enjoyed an annual average growth rate of 54.8 percent.
According to insiders, this confirms that Vietnam has become an important link in the supply chains of many products to many markets, including the US. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that the Vietnamese and US economies are complementary.
In the coming time, Vietnam will continue speeding up its economic reform and international integration, and strengthen mutually-beneficial economic, trade and investment cooperation with the US. According to the Deputy Minister, the value of imports from the US in the coming time will increase through the improvement of Vietnam’s business environment, thereby attracting more enterprises to Vietnam. The US’s becoming Vietnam's largest export market is considered a positive signal.
However, the Vietnam Trade Office in the US recommended Vietnam to be careful about anti-fraud and trade protection issues. Phan Mai Quynh from the MoIT's Vietnam Trade Remedies Authority said that in order to avoid risks, businesses should actively answer questions from the investigation agency, and fully prepare documents as required, and build an advanced governance system.
To support b us inesses in boosting exports to this market, Vietnam will continue cooperating with US partners to comprehensively address the US's concerns. The MoIT is working on big projects to enhance the competitiveness of export products, Hai said, adding that businesses must actively develop their markets to improve their domestic production capacity and integrate deeper into the global supply chains./.
