Great potential in Vietnam - US economic relations

In the first eleven months of 2024, the US market accounted for nearly one-third of Vietnam's total merchandise exports, showing that this bilateral economic and trade relationship is particularly important. Meanwhile, there is still a lot of room for future growth in the context that both sides are making efforts to promote investment, trade, and cooperation in new areas such as technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), etc.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh talks with Mr. John Neuffer, Chairman of SIA

Bilateral trade increased sharply

After more than a year of establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, trade between Vietnam and the US has made strong progress. According to data from the General Statistics Office, by the end of November 2024, the two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the US had reached nearly 123 billion USD, surpassing the figure for the whole year of 2023 (nearly 111 billion USD).

With the current positive growth rate, it is expected that Vietnam - US trade could exceed 134-135 billion USD in 2024. This figure shows the deep trade relationship and great potential for cooperation between the two countries.

According to the Department of European and American Markets (Ministry of Industry and Trade), Vietnam has become the 8th largest trading partner of the US and the fourth largest export market of the US in the ASEAN region. In contrast, the US is the second largest trading partner and the largest export market of Vietnam. Vietnam's key export items such as wooden furniture, machinery and equipment, footwear, plastic products, etc. have all recorded outstanding growth in recent times, at over 20%. This is the main driving force to help Vietnam's export turnover recover strongly after the difficult period in 2023, while bringing the Vietnam - US bilateral trade relationship back to a stable growth rate as in 2022.

“The cooperation between our two countries and the partnerships between our businesses are more vibrant and stronger than ever, bringing real benefits to both the American and Vietnamese people. That is what I have witnessed during my three visits to Vietnam as Secretary of State,” said Mr. Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, at the Vietnam-US Business Summit held in Hanoi at the end of November.

The Joint Statement on the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership outlines 10 pillars, in which economic, trade and investment relations continue to be identified as the “perpetual engine, the main pillar”, playing the role of the central driving force promoting the relationship between the two countries. Vietnam is identified as an important link in the US global supply chain, while US businesses and investors have made great contributions to the development and transformation of the Vietnamese economy. As of October 2024, the US had 1,400 valid FDI projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of nearly 12 billion USD, ranking 11th out of 148 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. On the other hand, many Vietnamese enterprises such as FPT, Vinfast, etc. are also expanding their operations to the US, bringing about mutual benefits.

Two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the United States over the years

Seek and realize new opportunities

Recently, many American business delegations, especially in the technology sector, have come to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities and have made many commitments to invest or expand in Vietnam. This December, a cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese Government and NVIDIA Corporation was signed to cooperate in establishing a Research and Development Center and an AI Data Center in Vietnam. These Centers will play a key role in supporting research initiatives, developing AI technology applications, promoting innovation and start-up activities in Vietnam. The agreement is expected to be an important "push" to help Vietnam make a technological leap forward in the coming time, with a large spillover effect, attracting the attention of other high-tech investors in the world, especially in the fields of AI, semiconductors, etc. to invest in Vietnam; at the same time, attracting and retaining many talents in the fields of semiconductors and AI.

Most recently, on December 10-11, the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) organized a delegation of leading US semiconductor businesses, including representatives of companies such as Intel, Ampere, Marvell, Cirrus Logic, Infineon, etc. to visit and work in Vietnam (previously, SIA also had 2 visits to Vietnam in January 2023 and October 2023). SIA Chairman, Mr. John Neuffer, highly appreciated Vietnam's initiatives and efforts in developing the semiconductor industry, especially the industry development strategy issued by the Government and the training program for at least 50,000 semiconductor engineers; at the same time, he stated that there are many great opportunities for US businesses in Vietnam and said that they will continue to accompany and support Vietnam in developing the semiconductor industry and building a strong supply chain.

“With Vietnam's prospects and its increasingly important role in the US semiconductor industry, in the strategy of SIA enterprises, we will return to Vietnam many times and will continue to promote and strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries,” said Mr. John Neuffer.

Earlier, in early March, the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) organized a delegation of 50 US businesses operating in various fields to visit and explore opportunities and potential for investment in Vietnam. Mr. Ted Osius, President and CEO of USABC, said that the reason why US businesses are strongly interested in Vietnam is because Vietnam is considered a stable, open country that always welcomes Americans and US businesses. The Vietnamese government is ready to take steps to facilitate business investment and is ready to address challenges.

In particular, in the context of the two countries officially upgrading their relations and making many commitments to strengthening bilateral economic relations, this is the right time for US businesses to come to Vietnam to seek and realize investment and trade opportunities between the two sides. Therefore, according to many forecasts, in the coming time, there will continue to be an explosion in the number of US businesses coming to Vietnam to seek investment opportunities.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Do Hung Viet said that the business communities of the two countries currently have extremely favorable conditions to expand long-term investment cooperation. The two countries have a solid foundation built over the past 30 years, especially the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework which is the strategic orientation for cooperation.

“We need to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation and consider these as key areas and driving forces of bilateral relations, while continuing to bring science and technology cooperation - a breakthrough area of ​​the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership - to a new level,” Deputy Minister Viet emphasized.

According to Mr. Joseph Uddo, Chairman of AmCham in Vietnam, with the upgrading of relations last year and the change of administration in the United States, this is an important time and a great opportunity to improve the policy framework, attract new investors as well as support investors and businesses currently operating in Vietnam to continue to develop.

Sharing the same view, Mr. John Goyer, Executive Director of Southeast Asia, US Chamber of Commerce noted that Vietnam - US trade is growing rapidly, but businesses need to pay attention to trade policies under President Trump, because it is likely that tariff tools will be used more on imported goods.

“We are currently seeing real momentum in the US-Vietnam economic relationship, despite President-elect Trump’s emphasis on the need for more balanced trade relations. This requires the business communities of both countries to capitalize on this momentum to enhance bilateral trade and investment, while working with the governments of both countries to remove barriers and challenges,” said AmCham Executive Director Adam Sitkoff.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/tiem-nang-lon-trong-quan-he-kinh-te-viet-nam-hoa-ky-159027.html