Hanoi (VNA) – Two-way trade turnoverbetween Vietnam and the US has increased nearly 120 times, reaching over 60billion USD in 2018 from 450 million USD in 1994, since the normalisation ofbilateral relations 25 years ago.

At present, Vietnam is ranked 16th among theleading trade partners of the US and the annual bilateral trade growth reaches20 percent.

Statistics showed that Vietnam’s exports to theUS in January 2019 were estimated at over 5.1 billion USD, up 42.1 percentcompared the same period last year. 

Garment-textile exports to the US increased 34.1percent to hit over 1.59 billion USD.  Other Vietnamese staples include footwear with the export turnover of 620million USD, up by over 100 million USD; wood and timber products at 475million USD, up by 156 million USD; and mobile phones at 473 million USD, up259 million USD.

According to the department in charge of Asianand American markets under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the US made up23.3 percent of Vietnam’s total export turnover in January, maintaining itsposition as a key trade market.

Additionally, a rangeof Vietnamese goods have been growing in popularity in the US. Vietnam has beenable to export mangoes to the US after a decade of negotiations and the completionof all procedures required by one of the most choosy markets in the world.

In January, the country imported over 1 billionUSD worth of goods from the US, resulting in Vietnam’s trade surplus of over 4billion USD to the market.

Minister Counsellor Bui Huy Son, head of theVietnam Trade Office in the US, stated that his office recently worked with oneof the biggest Asian food distribution chains in the US, the Rhee Brothers, to expandVietnamese food distribution in the market.

Through traditional exchange channels andelectronic trading tools, the office has connected the two countries’businesses in numerous fields such as garment-textiles, seafood, rice, coconutproducts, timber products, mechanical goods, manufacturing, chemicals,cosmetics, electric cables, electronic equipment, and semiconductors.

With the largest total import value of over 2.4trillion USD in 2018, the US will continue to be a key export market of Vietnamin the coming years, Son said, adding that this is also a fiercely competitiveone.

According to experts,the trade relations between Vietnam and the US in 2019 will see importantchanges because the US looks likely to recognise the market economy of Vietnamafter July 1, 2019. Therefore, the bilateral ties will be laid on the importantlegal foundation of international commitments.

To promote exports to the US, Son suggested thatgovernment agencies and the business community continue to create a favourableenvironment, while also improving goods quality, building brands, making gooduse of distribution systems, and effectively implementing trade promotionactivities.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anhsaid that besides programmes and orientations on increasing the support forbuilding national competitiveness, the ministry will carry out big projects toincrease the competitiveness of export products, especially of the industry andprocessing industry sectors.

Businesses themselves should proactively developmarkets and increase domestic production capacity, as well as look to getdeeper involved in the global supply chains.

They are recommended to build and implementeffective business strategies to make inroads into the US, noted the minister.–VNA