In late October, the American Apparel &Footwear Association (AAFA) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam(AmCham Vietnam) held a series of activities in Ho Chi Minh City, including aninternational workshop on product safety and compliance issues.
In the first eight months of 2017, Vietnamexported over 30.16 billion USD worth of goods to the US, making up 1.99percent of the US’s total import turnover.
However, during the eight-month period, Vietnampaid over 2.2 billion USD in taxes, ranking second out of the 15 countriespaying the highest import taxes to the US.
According to Nate Herman, Senior Vice Presidentof AAFA Supply Chain, Vietnam continued to surpass rivals in export growth tothe US in spite of receiving no benefits from any trade preferential programmesor free trade agreements.
The Southeast Asian country’s garment-textileand footwear exports to the US are likely to increase in the coming time, evenwithout TPP, he evaluated.
He noted that the US’s imports of Vietnam’sgarment-textile and footwear grew by 8.74 percent and 11.83 percentrespectively over the past 12 months and Vietnam was the second biggestexporter to the market, after China.
US retailers and consumers recognised Vietnam’sstrengths of quality, prices and delivery commitments, he said, adding thatthis is the reason why the AAFA and US businesses want to arrive in Vietnam.
Earlier, the National Cotton Council of America(CCI) coordinated with the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association toorganise the Cotton Day 2017 and granted investment licenses to 12 businessesoperating in Vietnam and using the US cotton.
The event aims to connect Vietnamesegarment-textile enterprises with the US partners, suppliers and experts.
Ryan Cabrera Tuazon, regional director of the USHanesBrands group, said after 10 years of operating in Vietnam, its totalinvestment has stood at around 55 million USD with three factories in thecentral province of Thua Thien-Hue and the northern province of Hung Yen.
Vietnam is defined as a production destinationfor HanesBrands in the Southeast Asian region, he said, adding that the factoryin Hue is equipped with the latest technologies and manufacturing equipment.
Jon Fee, a senior adviser of Alston & BirdLLP, said without TPP there are other opportunities for the garment-textile andfootwear producers in Vietnam such as the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the “One BeltOne Road” initiative, and the “Two corridors and one economic belt” ofVietnam-China strategic cooperation.
Experts said Vietnam’s exports to the US willface difficulties in the coming time due to the US’s tighter regulations onproduct safety to reduce trade deficit.
Nevertheless, US garment-textile and footwearcompanies still have opportunities in Vietnam, they said, warning firms to paydue attention to product safety and compliance matters.-VNA