Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - The trip by Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Việt Nam to attend the United Nations Summit of the Future and the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79), and hold working sessions in the US is expected to bring new opportunities for the Việt Nam-US trade ties.

According to trade experts, the economic-trade cooperation mechanism between the two countries has witnessed important developments, including their bilateral trade agreement signed in 2000, the permanent normal trade relations that the US granted for Việt Nam in 2006, and Việt Nam’s accession to the World Trade Organisation in 2006.

The two countries signed the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2007, established the Việt Nam-US Comprehensive Partnership in 2013, and signed an action plan towards a harmonious and sustainable trade balance in 2019. They also participated in the consultation on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in 2022.

According to experts, over the years, the US has always been one of Việt Nam's largest investors with nearly 1,150 active projects with a total registered capital of more than US$10.3 billion, ranking 11th out of the 141 economies investing in Việt Nam.

In addition, increasing cooperation and engagement between Việt Nam and US states including Oregon, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and California have helped establish comprehensive cooperation frameworks, facilitating trade and investment exchanges in the areas.

Businesses from the two countries have also promoted information sharing on potential opportunities.

According to the General Statistics Office, in the first eight months of 2024, Việt Nam's export turnover of goods to the US reached $77.9 billion, up 25.4 per cent compared to the same period last year; and import turnover from the US to Việt Nam reached $9.8 billion, up 6.9 per cent.

Notably, the US is Việt Nam's largest export market. Việt Nam’s trade surplus with the US is estimated at $68.1 billion, up 28.6 per cent over the same period in 2023.

At a meeting with Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Sarah Elleman, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hoàng Long spoke highly of the close, active, and effective cooperation of the USTR in further promoting Việt Nam-US trade and investment relations as well as the role of the TIFA Council in promptly discussing arising issues, strengthening bilateral economic-trade-investment relations for the benefit of businesses and people of the two countries.

Long affirmed that Việt Nam always considered the US a leading important partner.

He said intellectual property would be one of the important contents of the economic-trade cooperation pillar between the two sides in the coming time, especially in the context that Việt Nam and the US have upgraded their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Long proposed that the two countries strengthen policy exchanges, consolidate strategic trust, and create a solid foundation to promote economic, trade and investment relations through the TIFA Council's dialogue mechanism.

For her part, Sarah Elleman highly valued Việt Nam's position and role, affirming the principle of trade exchange must bring sustainable benefits and values with priorities given to effective investment and environmental protection, thereby creating new momentum for the development of economic, trade, and investment relations between the two countries.

Recently, a US trade delegation of 100 participants, including 35 business representatives and officials from the departments of agriculture of nine states, visited Việt Nam to explore cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

This marked the largest-ever agricultural trade mission from the US to Việt Nam and was led by Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Alexis Taylor, in celebration of the first anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Việt Nam and the US.

Taylor noted that this was her second visit to Việt Nam in two years. The mission aimed to connect with key importers via business-to-business meetings and to gain insights into local and regional market conditions through site visits and discussions with industry experts and government officials in Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City.

She said the Southeast Asian market held great opportunities for US exporters. Vietnamese consumers were increasingly interested in US products to meet the growing demand in the food processing, retail, and restaurant industries with the presence of many high-quality US products such as nuts, fresh fruits, chicken, beef, and pork.

A representative of the European-American Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that after the COVID-19 pandemic and recent geopolitical-economic instability, many corporations, retailers, and wholesale distributors were diversifying strategies to ensure sustainable supply sources. Many of them had chosen Việt Nam as one of the strategic locations in the global supply chain.

In particular, the Việt Nam visit by US President Joe Biden in 2023 and the upgrade of the Việt Nam-US relations would create unprecedented opportunities to promote new and breakthrough areas of cooperation. VNS