Huge potential for further Vietnam-US trade and investment

The past 25 years has seen all-around co-operation between Vietnam and the US enjoy many great strides

With the nation now being one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, these tremendous economic achievements can be attributed to the efforts put in by many US investors and businesses who have been actively supporting and pouring billions of US dollars into the country.

To signify the close relations, hundreds of co-operation projects between both countries have been initiated as a means of getting millions of people out of poverty.

According to Hoang Quang Phong, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the past 25 years has seen all-around co-operation between both sides enjoy many great strides, especially in terms of economics, trade, investment, science and technology, and education and training.

The business communities of each side have also noted their great appreciation for the political efforts and determination shown by their respective leaders to offer optimal conditions for firms to strive to boost trade exchanges and enjoy stronger business development than ever before.

At present, the US represents the nation’s largest export partner. Through the US-ASEAN Business Council, plenty of US enterprises and financiers have signed business and investment co-operation documents with the country regarding trade, import, and export.

The staggering growth of bilateral import-export turnover of 7,000% over the past 25 years indicates that there is plenty of room for both nations to fully exploit the potential, advantages, and effectiveness of bilateral co-operation moving forward.

The nation’s export advantages exist in garments and textiles, footwear, seafood and many other fields. Indeed, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus coupled with the US-China trade conflict has seen the country receive an increased investment wave of enterprises in high-tech and supporting industries. This represents a golden time for both sides to strengthen the relationship and linkages between their various business communities.

Discussing ways in which Vietnamese enterprises can be ready to receive the increased level of investment from foreign nations, including from the US, Phong says local firms must prepare psychologically and upgrade their management level, in addition to their scientific and technological capacity, in order to realise the co-operation opportunities.

This can be done in line with expectations regarding laying a foundation for development co-operation between the two countries.

Recently, leaders from both sides have offered a clear message of maintaining and developing the relationship to become comprehensive partners. A series of conferences held by the Vietnam Business Forum in recent years also highly appreciates the co-operative relationship between both sides, especially regarding the outstanding efforts aimed at promoting reform and innovation to upgrade infrastructure and improve the business investment environment nationally.

Despite this, many members of the US business community have expressed concerns about barriers regarding the current business conditions, which have so far failed to meet the expectations of foreign investors.

In an effort to address these concerns, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry have reviewed trade and investment barriers in the current system of legal documents while receiving opinions from the local business community in order to report to the Government and competent authorities for settlement.

Upon providing an assessment of Vietnamese preparation to seize upon investment co-operation opportunities from abroad, the VCCI official says that anticipating the investment shift is one of the opportunities of promoting co-operation between Vietnam and the US.

The Vietnamese Government and its agencies are therefore making every effort to fine-tune legal policies, upgrade the infrastructure system, and deal with pending issues in a bid to improve the overall quality of the Vietnamese business investment environment.

This indicates the trend of the nation pushing forward with deeper integration into the global economy. With over 200% of economic openness, the country has therefore shown its willingness to welcome a wealth of investment opportunities from abroad.