Talks on the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) and trade relations were held in Hanoi on Dec. 9, on the occasion of the 10 th anniversary of the BTA.

Since the BTA was signed on July 13, 2000 and became effective on Dec. 10, 2001, two-way trade rose from 1.5 billion USD to more than 20 billion USD. In addition, the BTA helped Vietnam to achieve it aim of joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007.

Addressing the event, US Ambassador David Shear said that over the past 10 years, the US and Vietnam have made impressive progress in bilateral relations, especially in economics.

Shear said as an ambassador, he will prioritise the promotion of the two countries’ economic relations.

In the meantime, Vietnam ’s per-capita GDP rose from 413 USD in 2001 to 1,300 USD in 2011 and its poverty rate fell from 58 percent in 1993 to 10.6 percent in 2010.

At present, the US and Vietnam and seven partners are negotiating a regional free trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, which is expected to benefit both the US and Vietnam economies in future./.