Bilateral trade between Vietnam and the United States will probably reach 33.6 billion USD in 2014; of this figure, 28.1 billion USD will come from Vietnamese exports.

The Vietnam Economic Times quoted the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam's forecast as stating that exports of Vietnam's textiles and apparel to the United States, which currently account for one-third of Vietnamese total exports to the market, will top 9.7 billion USD by the year-end.

According to the General Department of Customs, Vietnam had already exported over 8.49 billion USD worth of goods to the United States in the first four months of this year, up 27.5 percent year-on-year.

During the reviewed period, textiles and garments took the lead in terms of turnover, with 2.94 billion USD, making up 30 percent of total exports or increasing 18 percent against the same period last year. Footwear was second, with 950 million USD (up 25.5 percent), and wood and wooden goods ranked third, with 677.6 million USD (up 26 percent).

Among other export items recording significant turnover growth were mobile phones and their components, seafood, machines and equipment. Some agricultural goods also recorded significant turnover growth, such as cashew nuts, pepper, fruits and vegetables.

Trade experts attributed this good result to the great efforts of Vietnamese firms in ensuring their export growth rates in the context of having to cope with harsher competition from rival countries and stricter US trade barriers.

At present, Vietnam ranks third among ASEAN countries exporting goods to the United States, close behind Malaysia and Thailand. The country is set to be an export leader among Southeast Asian nations to the United States by 2015.-VNA