Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The historic Vietnam visit by US PresidentJoe Biden and the upgrade of bilateral relationship to the comprehensivestrategic partnership will create unprecedented opportunities to promote new and breakthrough cooperation areas, and to build Vietnam’s capacity to truly join the globalvalue chains, said Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien.
In a recent interview, Dien said Biden's State-level visitto Vietnam from September 10-11 marks the first by a US Presidentmade at the invitation of the General Secretary of the Communist Party ofVietnam and the continuation of the nearly 30-year tradition of bilateraldiplomatic ties characterised by significant developments of economiccooperation.
Over the past three decades, two-way trade has soared from 450 millionUSD to 124 billion USD last year. The US has been the partner of the top importance andthe biggest importer of Vietnam for many years, accounting for around 30% of the country'stotal export turnover.
Thetwo economies are complementary, with the US having demand for Vietnam’ssignature farm produce, apparel, leather and footwear, electronics, machinery, and equipment while supplying cotton, animal feed, corn, soya bean, chemicals,machinery, and technology to the Southeast Asian country.
With an average annual trade growth exceeding20%, the US will remain Vietnam's biggest export market in the years to come,Dien added.
About favourable conditions for the development of bilateral trade,he said the policy dialogue mechanism through the Vietnam – US Trade andInvestment Framework Agreement (TIFA), jointly chaired by the Vietnamese Ministryof Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Office of the US Trade Representative(USTR), is being effectively carried out, helping address many complex issuesin bilateral economic and trade ties.
Thanks to the persistent strategic trust buildingefforts from both sides, the US increasingly values Vietnam's role and positionin the region and places a strong focus on cooperation with Vietnam in variousnew regional initiatives, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework forProsperity (IPEF), supply chain shift and diversification, clean energy, justenergy transition, and digital economy.
According to Dien, the MoIT and the US Departmentof Commerce (DOC) have engaged in numerous open discussions through variouschannels to propose removing Vietnam from the list of non-market economies.
In the time ahead, the MoIT will continue discussionswith the US regarding the possibility of applying the Generalised System ofPreferences (GSP) mechanism for Vietnam.
In order to mitigate the risks of disruptions anddependency, US firms are looking to diversify their supply chains, thusmaking it easier for Vietnam to expand its manufacturing activities and becomemore deeply integrated into their global value chains.
As energy transition, environment protection andsustainable development have become dominant trends in cooperation anddevelopment, enhancing cooperation with the US in these areas will help Vietnam build andinvest in a more efficient national energy system while attracting more foreigndirect investment and advanced technology.
Inorder to achieve harmonious and sustainable economic-trade ties, the ministersuggested continually cultivating strategic trust, enhancing dialoguesand deepening cooperation in areas of core strategic importance such as energy,aviation, infrastructure, quality human resources training, energy transition,digital economy, and green manufacturing.
In his view, the pillars of economic, trade andinvestment cooperation, including the energy sector, will continue to hold ahigh priority and play a driving role in advancing the overall bilateralrelationship in the time to come.
He proposed that the focus should be onpromoting the increased participation of Vietnamese enterprises in the supplyof raw materials, components, and equipment for the energy, aviation, digitaleconomy, artificial intelligence sectors, and others.
It is crucial to ensure that input materials have clear originsand do not have adverse impact on the environment or forced labour practices associated with them. Atthe same time, there should be a gradual effort to study the upgrade of productionfacilities and factories to meet green production standards.
Additionally,businesses should actively join trade promotion programmes and exhibitions, andconnect with relevant agencies to build prestige and trust from UScustomers.
Besidescooperating with major importers and distribution channels, they should alsoemploy a strategy to diversify their customer base and actively seek nichemarkets to minimise risks, he added./.
