A delegation of 10 Vietnamese enterprises will travel to the US next month to seek out business opportunities, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The businesses were involved in fisheries, wooden furniture, fine arts, handicrafts and engineering, it said.
Tran Duy Dong, an expert with the ministry’s American Market Policy Department, said that the trip, which would take place from September 14 to 26, would help the enterprises find new trade opportunities in a number of states in the US , including Arizona and Colorado , in an effort to boost trade relations between the two countries.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and the US has seen a rise in recent years, especially after the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the two countries came into effect in late 2001.

Vietnam ’s export turnover from the US increased from over 1 billion USD in 2001 to over 12 billion USD in 2008.

The figure for the first six months of this year was only 6.2 billion USD, a year-on-year decrease of 7 percent, due to the global economic crisis. However, this drop was quite small when compared to other markets.

Vietnam ’s key exports to the US include textiles and garments, wooden goods, electronics and electrical components. The country this year expects to earns 12.7 billion USD from exports to the US./.