Increasing Vietnamese suppliers' deep participation in the US value chain

On the morning of September 11, in Da Nang City, the Department of European - American Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade) held a seminar on "Developing a system of suppliers deeply participating in the US value chain" to promote bilateral trade between Vietnam and the US.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Duong - Deputy Director of Europe - America Market Department

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Nguyen Hong Duong - Deputy Director of the European - American Market Department said that the United States has always been Vietnam's number one important export market and is a market with high standards, increasingly applying trade defense measures to goods exported from Vietnam. In 2023, export turnover to the United States decreased sharply due to the impact of economic recession, inflation, people tightening spending, high interest rates, etc. In the first half of 2024, Vietnam's goods exports to the United States have basically recovered and gradually regained stable growth momentum.

Citing data from the International Trade Commission, US Department of Commerce (USITC), Mr. Nguyen Hong Duong said that by the end of July 2024, Vietnam was the 9th largest trading partner of the United States with a total import-export turnover of about 81.2 billion USD, an increase of 18.7% compared to 2023 and accounting for 2.7% of the total import-export turnover of the United States. Vietnam's exports to the United States reached 73.9 billion USD (accounting for 3.98% of total imports of the United States, an increase of 17.7%); imports from the United States reached 7.3 billion USD, an increase of 29.98% over the same period in 2023. Vietnam had a trade surplus with the United States of 66.6 billion USD and ranked 3rd among countries with the largest trade surplus with the United States, after China and Mexico.

This is a positive growth rate when most countries directly competing with Vietnam such as China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia have much lower growth rates.

Discuss recommendations and solutions to develop a system of suppliers and participate deeply in the US value chain.

At the Seminar, experts said that in the coming time, to boost the export of goods as well as participate more deeply in the US value chains, enterprises need to continue to develop export products in the direction of specialization and modernization; improve product structure, focus on developing products with high added value; apply advanced quality management standards and regulations to enhance the competitiveness of the industry; promote investment in the production of raw materials, accessories, supporting industries, and promote the localization process to increase the value content of Vietnam.

In addition, it is necessary to actively participate in promotional activities, fairs and exhibitions; increase the introduction of Vietnamese export products on major US media as well as connect with Vietnamese enterprises in the host country to support and expand access to product distribution channels, thereby creating spillover and connectivity between states, regions and localities.

Delegates attending the seminar

According to Associate Professor Dr. Huynh Thi Dieu Linh - University of Economics, University of Da Nang, besides some strengths, Vietnamese enterprises in general, Da Nang and Central enterprises in particular, still have weaknesses, such as small production scale, so they do not have enough supply capacity; product quality is not consistent. "There is a situation where when providing samples for the first, second, and third times, the supplier does well, but the following times, it is not consistent, and cannot be maintained throughout the long cycle of the contract ", Associate Professor Dr. Huynh Thi Dieu Linh informed.

In addition, Vietnam's limited infrastructure affects logistics costs; enforcement of intellectual property rights also affects the development of suppliers to participate deeply in the US value chain.

Businesses hope to have more updated information from the US market to proactively adapt and produce.

Business representatives also hope that there will be more programs providing updated information about the US market, recommendations and warnings related to goods and fields subject to trade defense measures, anti-dumping investigations, etc., so that they can promptly have appropriate business plans.

It is known that this is the second Dialogue program in a series of 3 Dialogues organized by the Department of European - American Markets in 2024 in 3 key economic regions to share and listen to information from the business community, update the bilateral trade situation, assess the policy trends of the US market in the coming time. At the same time, assess the prospects of cooperation and recommend practical and timely solutions to serve the business community and policy advisory agencies of Vietnam.

Previously, at the end of July 2024, the Dialogue was held in Ho Chi Minh City. The final session of the Dialogue series is expected to be held in the Northern key economic region in October 2024.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tang-nha-cung-ung-viet-nam-tham-gia-sau-vao-chuoi-gia-tri-cua-hoa-ky-344983.html