AmCham wants US to donate more vaccines to Vietnam

"Our members believe that increased U.S. vaccine donations to Vietnam will not only help fight the pandemic here, but will also benefit the American people as millions of American workers are directly dependent on suppliers around the world having healthy workforces," the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam wrote in a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden.

The factory shutdowns in Vietnam threaten global supply chains and add to a long list of challenges that U.S. brands face in delivering reasonably-priced goods in time for the upcoming holiday shopping season.

Vietnam accounts for almost a third of U.S. footwear manufacturing and a fifth of U.S. apparel manufacturing by dollar value.

More than half of Nike’s footwear manufacturing occurs in the country, while Gap and Lululemon each rely on Vietnam for roughly a third of their production.

In this regard, the U.S. business community in Vietnam appeals for the U.S. to quickly donate additional supplies of excess U.S. vaccines to Vietnam, AmCham wrote.

Last month, 90 CEOs of leading U.S. companies in Vietnam made the same request to Biden, urging him to send more vaccine donations to the country.

Vietnam has received a gift of six million vaccine doses from the U.S, comprising five million Moderna, and one million Pfizer doses.

The country has inoculated 28.6 percent of its population, with around 6.8 percent having been fully vaccinated.