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| Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc (R) and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer__Photo: VNA |
The US has agreed to begin negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement with Vietnam, as proposed by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc at his meeting with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on April 9.
Phoc, who is paying a visit to the US in his capacity as special envoy of Party General Secretary To Lam, affirmed that Vietnam wishes to further strengthen and deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the US.
He thanked the US Government for consistently supporting a “strong, independent, self-resilient, and prosperous” Vietnam, stressing Vietnam remains steadfast in building an independent and self-reliant economy, and in pursuing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations.
Vietnam wishes to work with relevant US agencies to concretize the discussions between Party General Secretary Lam and President Donald Trump on April 4, thus maintaining a stable and sustainable economic and trade relationship, for the sake of businesses and people in both countries, the Deputy PM continued.
He emphasized that Vietnam has proactively implemented various measures in recent times to help address the trade imbalance between the two countries and respond to the concerns raised by the US.
Therefore, he said, the US’s imposition of high tariffs on Vietnamese exports is not conformable to the mutually beneficial economic and trade ties between the two countries and does not reflect the spirit of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
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| At the meeting between Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer__Photo: VNA |
The Deputy PM proposed that, although the US has decided to delay the imposition of tariffs by 90 days, the two countries should promptly begin negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement in order to establish a long-term framework to promote a stable and mutually beneficial economic and trade relationship, in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
For his part, Greer lauded Vietnam’s proactive and positive steps, which demonstrate the country’s strong commitment to advancing the bilateral economic and trade ties.
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| Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc witnesses the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Vietnam’s Vietjet and Air Finance of the US__Photo: VNA |
The US places great importance on its bilateral relations with Vietnam and wishes to work closely together to address the trade imbalance issue, aiming for increasingly intensive cooperation across various fields, he said.
Greer said the reciprocal trade agreement should include arrangements on tariffs and proposed that technical-level representatives from both countries start discussions immediately.
The two sides consented to continue working closely together to promote a favorable business environment, proactively review and minimize non-tariff barriers on each other’s goods, facilitate greater investment and business activities by US companies in Vietnam, and enhance cooperation in monitoring and preventing trade fraud.
On April 8-9, Phoc also met with Senators Bill Hagerty and Steve Daines, as well as various US organizations and businesses.- (VNA/VLLF)
