Washington DC. (VNA) – Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has called on the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and the American business community to continue supporting Vietnam in the negotiation of a reciprocal trade agreement between the two countries.
The proposal was made during his meeting on June 9 with Jeffrey Perlman, Chairman of both Warburg Pincus Investment Fund and USABC, as part of the minister’s working visit to the United States.
At the meeting, Minister Dien spoke highly of the growing economic and trade ties between Vietnam and the US, affirming that the US remains one of Vietnam’s top economic partners. He stressed that the two economies are complementary, creating competitive advantages and fostering sustainable development in line with Vietnam’s vision of building an independent, self-reliant economy with deep global integration.
He called on USABC and American firms to lend continued support to Vietnam during the ongoing reciprocal trade agreement negotiations and promote Vietnam’s investment and business potential among US partners.
For his part, Perlman expressed strong confidence in Vietnam’s economic prospects, noting that the country is now Warburg Pincus’s second-largest market in Asia. He reiterated the fund’s commitment to long-term investment in Vietnam and pledged to actively advocate for closer bilateral economic-trade ties.
Perlman also said he plans to soon meet with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to present key recommendations. These include USABC’s support for a balanced and harmonious trade deal with Vietnam, a call for enhanced cooperation between the US and ASEAN given the region’s strategic role, and an appeal for objective and comprehensive evaluation of the current trade imbalance. He said that this last aspect is a natural outcome of economic relations between a developed country and an emerging economy like Vietnam.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed potential cooperation in energy, industry, digital transformation, green transition, logistics, and supply chain development. USABC affirmed its continued support for Vietnam’s efforts in maintaining macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth.
On the same day, Minister Dien held talks with leaders of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and major US textile and footwear firms, including GAP, Levi Strauss, Hanes Brands, and Under Armour.
The minister acknowledged AAFA’s vital role in promoting Vietnam–US trade relations and thanked the association for acting as an effective bridge between US businesses and Vietnamese producers. He affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to be a reliable partner in global supply chains and expressed a wish to strengthen cooperation to build a fair, adaptable, and sustainable trade environment.
At the meetings, Minister Dien called on US associations and major corporations to convey Vietnam’s message to the administration of President Trump. He stressed that the recently established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and the US has created favourable conditions for US companies to invest and do business in Vietnam. He affirmed that long-term cooperation with Vietnam would bring strategic benefits and help improve the trade balance in a fair, harmonious, and sustainable manner.
He also urged the US to recognise Vietnam as a market economy and to remove it from the D1 and D3 control lists that currently restrict the export of high-tech products. Doing so, he said, would bring practical benefits to both countries in both the short and long term./.
