Gutierrez leads delegation to Vietnam
HANOI - U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez touted Vietnam's booming economy Monday, saying there was great potential to expand trade ties between the United States and its former foe.
"Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing countries in the world, and it is going to continue to grow at a very fast pace," said Gutierrez, who is leading a delegation of U.S. business leaders. "The potential is very strong and the opportunities are very strong."
Since the United States and Vietnam implemented a bilateral trade deal in 2001, he noted, two-way trade has grown to nearly US$10 billion (euro6.91 billion) a year from US$1.5 billion (euro1.04 billion) a year.
"We have a strong future together," he said. "We have a strong partnership."
Gutierrez met Monday morning with Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. He will also travel to the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City during his three-day visit.
"The people and the government of Vietnam are very delighted with the fine cooperation between the United States and Vietnam," Dung said, welcoming Gutierrez at the prime minister's office.
"I believe that your visit will help further strengthen the development of relations between our countries, particularly in trade and investment," Dung said.
Gutierrez was accompanied by representatives from 22 American companies, including Dow Chemical Co., Ford Motor Co., 3M Co., Alcoa Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp.
The visit was the first Cabinet-led U.S. business mission to Vietnam, which joined the World Trade Organization earlier this year.
Some members of the U.S. delegation are already doing business in Vietnam, while others are still exploring the market, home to the second-youngest population in Asia.
"We're very bullish on Vietnam," said Brady Southwick, regional director of Cummins Inc., a manufacturing firm that intends to expand its operations in Vietnam. "The demographics are very good, and we see it as a real growth market for us."
Vietnam's economy is growing more than 8 percent a year and attracting interest from companies around the world. Foreign investment exceeded US$10 billion (euro6.91 billion) last year and is expected to reach US$13 billion (euro8.98 billion) this year.
The United States is the sixth-largest foreign investor in Vietnam, behind Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
U.S. companies have more than 500 investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of US$5 billion (euro3.45 billion), Dung told Gutierrez.
Vietnam is drawing increasing attention from investors, although many foreign firms still have concerns about the business climate in communist Vietnam, a developing country that has been intensifying its free-market reforms over the last decade.
Business leaders here say Vietnam needs to improve its infrastructure, legal system and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Gutierrez said businessmen had shared such concerns with him during the visit.
He also said the U.S. hoped to even out the balance of trade between the two nations, which heavily favors Vietnam.
Last year, Vietnamese exports accounted for nearly 90 percent of the trade between the two nations.
"We don't want to reduce the trade deficit by limiting imports to the United States," Gutierrez said, adding that the U.S. simply wanted fair access to Vietnamese markets. "We want to be able to export more."
By Ben Stocking - The Associated Press - November 5, 2007.
Commerce Secretary asks Vietnam to open faster
HANOI - U.S. companies want Vietnam's fledgling market economy to move faster and Washington won't restrict Hanoi's exports to narrow a trade deficit, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on Monday.
Gutierrez, leading the first U.S. trade mission of 22 companies to Hanoi since Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in January, met Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, President Nguyen Minh Triet and Americans doing business in the communist-ruled country.
"The big issue that companies have brought forward is that they would like things to move faster, that they want to invest and that sometimes things don't move as quickly as they would like," Gutierrez said at a news conference.
Vietnam has one of the world's fastest-growing economies after its giant neighbor China, expanding at more than 8 percent a year and attracting investors from around the globe.
Trade between Vietnam and the United States was forecast to reach $12 billion this year, six years after the first trade agreement between the former enemies came into effect.
U.S. imports from Vietnam account for about $10.5 billion and Vietnam imports from the U.S. have been stuck at around $1 billion since 2003.
Vietnamese exports include coffee, textiles and footwear, shrimps and wood furniture.
"The way to deal with the deficit is to export more," said Gutierrez, whose visit started on Sunday and ends on Thursday.
"We have requested to allow us the same access for U.S. companies into Vietnam as the Vietnamese companies have to our country.
"We do not want to have a policy that limits Vietnamese exports to the U.S. We just want to be able to export more."
The "Business Development Mission to Vietnam" includes Northwest Airlines, 3M Company and Dow Chemical Co.
The U.S. Congress granted Vietnam what is known as Permanent Normal Trade Relations Status in December last year, paving the way for the developing Southeast Asian country to join the WTO.
Companies from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore have invested more in Vietnam than American corporations.
By Grant McCool - Reuters - November 5, 2007.
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