Propose the US Congress to support agricultural cooperation with Vietnam

(Chinhphu.vn) - Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy asked Senator John Boozman and Congressman Glenn Thompson to continue to lead and actively support the effective cooperative relationship between agricultural agencies of Vietnam and the United States, both at the federal and state levels.

Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy and the working delegation worked with Senator John Boozman - Photo: Working delegation

On June 5 (local time), Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy received Senator John Boozman, Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Congressman Glenn Thompson, Chairman of the US House Committee on Agriculture.

At the working sessions, Minister Do Duc Duy asked Mr. John Boozman and Mr. Glenn Thompson to continue to lead and actively support the effective cooperation between agricultural agencies of the two countries, both at the federal and state levels.

Strong commitment of the Vietnamese Government

With the aim of exploring, connecting and promoting bilateral agricultural trade opportunities, a Vietnamese delegation with many leaders of specialized agencies, along with about 30 enterprises in grain, meat, fertilizer, biological pesticides and wood industry came to the United States with the expectation of further promoting two-way agricultural trade.

As a result of the two forums, a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed, with a total value of about 1.4 billion USD.

Minister Do Duc Duy informed that on the afternoon of June 6, a discussion between the Vietnamese delegation and the US-ASEAN Business Council is expected to take place in Washington DC.

Vietnamese agricultural associations and enterprises expect to sign more contracts to import agricultural products from US partners, with a total estimated value of about 1.1 billion USD. If realized, these agreements will increase the total value of agricultural goods traded between the two countries to about 2.5 billion USD within the next 3 years.

This is a trade result beyond expectations, demonstrating the strong commitment and determination of the Government, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, as well as the Vietnamese business community in expanding the import of goods from the United States, especially agricultural products, thereby contributing to creating a more balanced and harmonious bilateral trade balance.

Both the Chairmen of the Agriculture Committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives expressed their excitement and optimism about the outstanding results from the working trip of the Vietnamese delegation in Iowa, Ohio and the upcoming important discussion in Washington DC.

Minister Do Duc Duy and the delegation took a souvenir photo with Senator John Boozman - Photo: Delegation

Senator John Boozman emphasized Vietnam's role as a reliable and dynamic economic partner in the Asia-Pacific region. He expressed his support for the two countries to reach a fair tariff agreement and said he would fully convey Vietnam's recommendations to relevant US agencies.

For his part, Congressman Glenn Thompson paid special attention to the high-value agricultural contracts reached during recent meetings. He said that the US Government should promptly review and properly address concerns related to the proposed tax policy applied to goods originating from Vietnam.

He positively assessed Vietnam’s decision to commercialize genetically modified crops. This move demonstrates Vietnam’s proactive integration and determination to modernize its agricultural sector.

Both expressed strong support for enhancing comprehensive cooperation in the agricultural sector, not only between state management agencies but also between institutes and academic communities of the two countries.

Minister Do Duc Duy and the working delegation worked with Congressman Glenn Thompson - Photo: Working delegation

Urge the US Congress to Support Fair Trade Policies

Minister Do Duc Duy has made official recommendations to US Congressional delegates.

Minister Do Duc Duy commented that Vietnam and the United States both have strengths in agriculture, but are not direct competitors. On the contrary, the two countries can become partners supporting each other to develop together. He highly appreciated the development level and outstanding innovation speed of the US agricultural sector, with productivity and quality of agricultural products ranked among the most prestigious in the world.

"Vietnam's agriculture has only recently made strong progress, so it is very necessary to access high-quality input materials, especially crop and livestock varieties with outstanding productivity," said the Minister.

In fact, the demand for agricultural imports from Vietnam is on the rise. The growth rate of bilateral agricultural trade has been maintained at a steady rate of over 10% per year over the past decade. This figure demonstrates the sustainable demand and effective synergy between the two agricultural sectors.

In the context of a volatile world, agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and the United States is increasingly strategic, not only for the two countries, but also contributes to ensuring the stability of the global food supply chain.

Minister Do Duc Duy and the delegation took a souvenir photo with Congressman Glenn Thompson - Photo: Delegation

In recent times, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has created favorable conditions for US producers to penetrate the Vietnamese market. Vietnam has completed registration procedures for 509 enterprises producing meat and meat products and 232 enterprises exporting seafood to Vietnam.

Notably, Vietnam is also one of the first eight Asian countries to accept biotech crop varieties, and has so far approved all 61 applications from US companies. From April 1, 2025, Vietnam has reduced tariffs to 0% on most US corn and soybean products.

Vietnamese agricultural product importers participating in the working trip with Minister Do Duc Duy all expressed their hopes for a bright future of trade cooperation, towards a stable, sustainable and healthy relationship.

Businesses hope that the two sides will soon sign trade agreements with appropriate tariff policies, taking into account Vietnam's characteristics as a developing country with limited income.

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/de-nghi-quoc-hoi-hoa-ky-ung-ho-hop-tac-nong-nghiep-voi-viet-nam-102250606142333506.htm