Vietnamese firms supported in gaining foothold in US market

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese enterprises received updates on fresh information, policies, and business opportunities for the US market at a workshop held in Hanoi on July 27.

Le Hoang Tai, deputy head of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said that the US has maintained its position as the leading trade partner of Vietnam over the past decade. Last year, Vietnam’s export to the US hit 41.6 billion USD, accounting for over 20 percent of its total export value.

Besides main exports such as garment and textiles, footwear, wood products, and seafood; new products, including electronic products, processed food, and iron and steel, are beginning to have a firm foothold in this market too, Tai added.

According to Nguyen Thang Vuong from the MoIT’s Department of European and American Markets, since the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement took effect, two-way trade enjoyed a 47-fold increase from 220 million USD in 1994 to 50.8 billion USD in 2017.

Vietnam currently ranks 12th amongst those exporting goods to the US, and 27th in terms of those importing goods from the US. It is the American nation’s 16th largest trader.

Former Vietnamese Trade Counselor in the US Dao Tran Nhan said that the US is a potential but choosy market, which requires Vietnamese exporters to improve their capacity and take the initiative in cooperation in order to build a supply chain.

When working with US partners, especially through e-transactions, if the US side requests for a change in transaction banks, it is necessary for Vietnamese businesses to stop contacting via email and directly call to ask for the reasons behind this in order to avoid unexpected incidents, Nhan advised.

He also recommended food and beverage firms pay special attention to the Food Safety Modernisation Act. –VNA