Vietnam-US agree on direction for negotiating reciprocal trade agreement

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Chief United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer

On the afternoon of May 16, in Jeju, South Korea, right after the conclusion of the 31st APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade (MRT 31), according to the pre-arranged plan of both sides, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Head of the Government Negotiation Delegation, had a direct ministerial-level negotiation session with Chief of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer.

This is the first direct ministerial-level negotiation session between Vietnam and the United States after the online negotiation session on April 12, 2025 to conduct negotiations on the Vietnam-US Reciprocal Trade Agreement under the direction of the two countries' senior leaders.

The negotiation session took place in a frank and constructive, open and flexible spirit, demonstrating the great efforts of both sides in building a stable economic, trade and investment relationship, harmonizing interests, commensurate with the Vietnam - US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; on the basis of respecting sovereignty, autonomy, political institutions, harmonizing and balancing interests and in accordance with international law and practice and the development level of each country.

The negotiations took place in a frank and constructive spirit, open and flexible.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer acknowledged and appreciated Vietnam's goodwill and initiative in actively preparing for the negotiations between the two sides, and basically agreed with Vietnam's approach and proposals. The United States hopes that with the efforts of both sides, the technical-level negotiations in the coming days will achieve positive results, bringing practical benefits to the people and business communities of the two countries, contributing to the stability and sustainable development of bilateral trade relations and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

On that basis, the two sides reached a high level of agreement on issues of principles, approaches, content orientation and negotiation plans, creating a foundation for the next negotiation sessions to achieve positive results.

Anh Tho

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/viet-nam-hoa-ky-thong-nhat-dinh-huong-dam-phan-hiep-dinh-thuong-mai-doi-ung-10225051709321595.htm