MoIT keen to bolster economic cooperation with US firms

A garment factory in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) will focus on some cooperation fields with the US this year and hopes to receive support from businesses of the country, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai has said when meeting a delegation of the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) in Hanoi.

At a working session, the MoIT informed more than 40 leading firms of the US operating in Vietnam about its priorities this year.

The ministry is to ensure material supplies to meet demand for production recovery and development, and address bottlenecks in important industrial projects, Hai added.

It will facilitate recovery of factories to build supply chains and maintain orders by firms of other countries, including the US.

Priorities will be given to major public investment projects, notably in energy, infrastructure, and industry and trade development, so as to boost consumption and trade, along with expanding markets for spearhead manufacturing industries of steel, mechanics, building materials and automobiles.

In the long term, the MoIT will fine-tune legal framework and policies in industrial project investment and development. It will keep a close watch on COVID-19 developments and trade with countries to propose suitable measures to the Government.

Due attention will be paid to the implementation of free trade agreements (FTAs) to support firms and maximise opportunities brought by the trade pacts, the official continued.

Other tasks of the ministry comprise the holding of trade promotions, assistance for farm produce exporters, streamlining administrative procedures and market forecast, and resolving difficulties in transport to avoid disruption of the supply chain in the context of COVID-19, among others.

USABC President and CEO Ted Osius pledged that the council will closely work with Vietnamese businesses to promptly resume production activities.

The USABC is supporting Vietnam’s relevant agencies to carry out FTAs that the country is a signatory of. In addition, US firms will help Vietnam develop the circular economy and earned value management (EVM) regulations, he underlined.

For their parts, US businesses, including Ford Vietnam, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific and Nike Vietnam, expressed their interest in investing in the fields of logistics, high technology industries, clean energy transition, digital transformation and circular economy in combination with sustainable development.

Hai took note of proposals and recommendations by US companies at the event and assigned relevant agencies to consider and handle them under their jurisdiction./.