Vietnam - US negotiations make positive progress

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien had a negotiation session with Ambassador, Chief US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on May 21.

Vietnam and the US conducted the second round of negotiations of the bilateral agreement on reciprocal trade in recent days (May 19-22) in Washington DC. On the last working day, Minister of Industry and Trade, Head of the negotiation delegation Nguyen Hong Dien, worked with Ambassador, Chief of the US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.

At the end of this round of negotiations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that Vietnam and the US have made positive progress. The two sides have identified groups of issues on which they have reached consensus or have similar views, and groups of issues that need further discussion to reach consensus in the coming time.

The two sides also set time frames for feedback on the draft agreement, proposed text, and held online meetings to prepare for the next negotiation session. The next contents are expected to be discussed in early June, as agreed by the heads of the two countries' negotiation delegations.

"Vietnam and the US discussed all the proposed contents in the spirit of goodwill, frankness, respect for institutions, balancing interests and in accordance with international commitments and the development level of each country," said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to the previous plan, Vietnam and the US will negotiate a reciprocal trade agreement, including tax contents. This is to create a long-term framework to promote stable and mutually beneficial economic and trade relations, in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the recent round of negotiations, both sides spent time providing information on each side's current policies, clarifying the contents of the draft text of the Agreement, and discussing the overall approach. This helps to resolve fundamental issues of mutual concern to speed up the negotiation process.

At the same time, members of the two sides' negotiating delegations had open and constructive discussions on economic and trade issues of core interest to both countries, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Ambassador, Chief US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, at the negotiation session, May 21

Ambassador and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer highly appreciated Vietnam's goodwill and efforts in handling issues of US concern. He hoped that the two sides would continue to promote exchanges at the technical and ministerial levels to achieve results as soon as possible.

Responding to the US representative, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien affirmed that Vietnam will build and promote economic and trade relations with the US in a balanced and sustainable manner for the benefit of the people and businesses of the two countries.

The Minister agreed with Ambassador and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to assign technical levels of both sides to continue to strengthen exchanges to soon reach an agreement that meets the expectations and conditions of each side.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/dam-phan-viet-my-dat-tien-bo-tich-cuc-412178.html