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Businesses urged to propose measures to facilitate VN-U.S. trade

VGP – Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung has asked the Vietnamese and United States (U.S.) firms to propose new measures to contribute to maintaining the positive growth momentum in bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries.

September 10, 2018 3:06 PM GMT+7

Photo: VGP

The Deputy PM made the call while attending the U.S.-Viet Nam Business Summit on September 10.

The event was jointly held by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) under the theme “Shaping the future of bilateral economic relations”.

The conference aimed to discuss effective forms of cooperation between Viet Nam and U.S. investors and companies in the context of the fourth Industrial Revolution, while touching upon the ways to further promote trade and investment between the two countries.

In his speech, Deputy PM Dung affirmed that Viet Nam always attaches great importance to and highly appreciates the investment projects of U.S. enterprises, especially the corporations operating in the fields of renewable energy, clean and sustainable energy, petroleum, infrastructure, banking-finance, education-training, tourism, agriculture, and hi-tech, alongside some other traditional investment spheres, such as agricultural products and seafood.

Over the past few years, economic, trade and investment cooperation has become a crucial cornerstone and motivation of the U.S.-Viet Nam relations, he said, adding that the U.S. has become one of Viet Nam’s largest trade partners.

Trade turnover between the two countries increased from US$7.8 billion in 2005 to over US$54 billion in 2017. In the first six months of this year, bilateral trade reached US$27.4 billion, with Viet Nam’s imports from the U.S.growing over 20%. Concerning investment, as of June 2018, the U.S. had 877 valid projects totally worth US$9.37 billion in Viet Nam, ranking 10th among the 128 countries and territories making direct investments in the Southeast Asian nation.

Addressing the event, Gilbert Kaplan, the U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, and Daniel J. Kritenbrink, the U.S. ambassador to Viet Nam, affirmed that the U.S. is committed to becoming a strong partner of Viet Nam in all areas, especially in economic, trade and investment cooperation. 

The U.S. government always encourages businesses to explore opportunities and expand their investment in Viet Nam, they said. 

During the meeting, participants discussed the issues related to reforms in healthcare and financial market development, the acceleration of information technology services, the promotion of creativity and development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the improvement of market access through trade promotion.

                                                                                                                     By Vien Nhu