Around 300 firms will attend Vietnam-US Trade Forum

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc meeting around 30 enterprises of the US-ASEAN Business Council in March 2018. Photo: VGP

Over the last ten years, the US has been Vietnam’s leading trade partner, making trade promotion activities always a point of interest for the business community.

In 2017, Vietnamese exports to the US were valued at $41.6 billion, making up over 20 per cent of the total. In addition to major export items such as textiles, leather and footwear, furniture, and seafood, new products like electronics, iron and steel, and processed food also found their wy to the US.

The forum is a good chance for the two countries’ enterprises to meet, discuss, and look for business opportunities through presentations, advertisements, and trade connection activities.

There may be 300 representatives of businesses, associations, localities, importers, investors, distributors, and logistics firms from Vietnam and the US.

Since the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) came into effect, two-way trade turnover has been growing continuously, from $220 million in 1994 to $1.4 billion in 2001 (before the BTA), and $50.8 billion in 2017.

According to MoIT's Europe-Americas Market Department, Vietnam is currently the 12^th largest partner exporting goods to the US, the 27^th partner on importing items, and altogether the 16^th trading partner of the US. Vietnam’s trade surplus was $32.4 billion in 2017.

The export turnover of the ten largest goods categories into the US hit $34 billion in 2017, capturing over 80 per cent of the total export value to the US. Textile was the highest export value sector with $12.28 billion, accounting for 29.51 per cent. Footwear was the second with $5.11 billion, telephones and equipment made $3.7 billion, computers, electronic products, and equipment, and furniture made $3.26 billion.