The U.S. will further boost trade ties with Vietnam as part of bilateral cooperation which also include investment and education even when its new administration has rejected the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, the U.S. ambassador has said.
U.S. exports to Vietnam notch up the fastest growth among all trading partners and Washington will not ignore Hanoi in trade relations, Ambassador Ted Osius was quoted by VietnamPlus as telling Vietnam’s government leaders at the American Chamber of Commerce Gala, which took place last weekend in Hanoi.
He expressed regrets that the TPP, now left with 11 member states including Australia, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam, was not supported by U.S. President Donald Trump.
But Osius reaffirmed that the U.S. would not adopt trade protectionism, the report said.
He said along with trade, investment and education are mutual benefits the two countries will seek to boost in the future.
Vietnam and the U.S. normalized relations in 1995, 20 years after the war ended. The two countries established comprehensive partnership in 2013 and have enjoyed steady growth in bilateral trade.
U.S. exports to Vietnam in 2016 soared 77 percent from the previous year, VietnamPlus reported.
The U.S. bought Vietnamese goods worth $38.46 billion, a jump of 15 percent in the same period, based on Vietnam Customs data.
The two nations also have a strong education bond, with more than 28,000 Vietnamese students studying in the U.S., officials said at the meeting. The number ranked Vietnam the sixth among countries with the most students at American educational institutions, according to a recent U.S. Student and Exchange Visitor Program report.
Hanoi has invited President Donald Trump to make an official visit to Vietnam and attend the APEC Summit in Da Nang City later this year.