US-Vietnam trade nears $18b

Vietnam is becoming an increasingly important trading partner of the United States in Southeast Asia given their strong bilateral trade expansion, which the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam) in HCM City puts at nearly $18 billion for this year.

Jocelyn Tran, chairwoman of AmCham HCM City, told the Vietnam-US Business Forum End of the year Dinner here on Tuesday that annual two-way trade between the two countries would reach the new level from less than $1 billion about 15 years ago. This substantial growth is led by the apparel, footwear and furniture industry sectors.

Consumer products such as apparel, footwear, and furniture make up about two-thirds of Vietnam’s total exports of some $14.7 billion to the US in 2010. Apparel shipments to the US are forecast to stand at $6.2 billion this year as against $5.4 billion in 2008.

The US foreign trade statistics showed the US trade in goods with Vietnam slightly dropped to more than $15.3 billion last year from $15.69 billion in 2008, mainly due to impact of the global economic downturn.

However, Tran was optimistic that the US-Vietnam bilateral trade would double in the next decade.

“I am confident that by 2020, annual bilateral trade between our two countries will reach $35 billion or more, or doubling this year’s level, and Vietnam will be one of the States’ most important trading partners in Southeast Asia,” she said.

The dinner was organised by AmCham HCM City in cooperation with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) to mark 15 years of Vietnam-US normalisation of relations and 10 years of the signing of the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Trade and investment had been the core parts of Vietnam-US relations over the past 15 years, HCM City vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong told the dinner. Le Thanh An, US Consul general to HCM City, and VCCI President Vu Tien Loc were also speakers at this event.

Hong said HCM City had become the destination of first choice for US investors in Vietnam, and the evidence was that Intel recently opened its advanced chip assembly and testing facility in Saigon Hi-tech Park in a $1 billion investment project. “This has sent a good message to the international business community in general and the US investors in particularly.”

Hong expected the Vietnam-US Business Forum, which made a debut earlier this year, would support Vietnam’s economic growth and expanding relations with the US in the years to come besides enabling companies of the countries to capitalise on new opportunities.

The remarkable development of Vietnam-US trade and investment links in the past years has laid firm foundations for the future relations between the two countries. “We are also looking forward to even greater development based on our continuing close cooperation with our Vietnamese business and government partners,” Tran said.

According to AmCham HCM City, US companies in Vietnam in general and in HCM City in particular have been very successful over the years. They, especially the major retail chains such as Nike, MAST Industries and Target are driving the bilateral trade growing as they purchase products and export stateside.

Apart from export-oriented manufacturing industries, US companies have also been present in the hospitality, transportation, banking, finance and insurance sectors. They are assisting in transfer of technology and human development in Vietnam.

More US companies are exploring the Vietnamese market. According to AmCham HCM City, more than 25 top “Fortune 500″ US companies visited the country in the first half of 2010 to assess opportunities in higher-value-added manufacturing and service industries.

Tran said Vietnam would attract more US investors in modern manufacturing and service sectors including electricity, transportation, ICT, distribution/logistics/supply chain management, and education and health care if the government created a positive environment for investment. – Saigon Times

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