Vietnam will hold first round of negotiations with the US on May 7.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presented a report on the supplementary assessment of the socio-economic situation in 2024 and the plan for 2025 on the morning of May 5.

The information was stated by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh when presenting a supplementary assessment report on socio-economic performance in 2024 and plans for the first months of 2025, at the opening session of the 9th meeting on the morning of May 5.

He said that since the beginning of the year, the world situation has been complicated and unpredictable, especially when the US announced a high reciprocal tax policy, then postponed it for 90 days with trading partners (except China) and temporarily applied a tax rate of 10%. This has negatively impacted global economic growth, threatening the supply chain and international trade and investment flows.

In this context, according to the Prime Minister, Vietnam has been calm and proactive in implementing many timely and flexible response measures, achieving initial positive results. Vietnam is one of the six countries that the US has prioritized to negotiate. "Vietnam has begun negotiations with the US, the first session is expected to take place on May 7," the Prime Minister said.

On May 1, a Vietnamese technical exchange delegation visited the US to work with relevant agencies of that country on bilateral trade negotiations.

The Government leader emphasized that negotiations with the US are based on the spirit of protecting legitimate and legal rights and interests and promoting balanced and sustainable trade, as well as not affecting international agreements that Vietnam participates in.

According to statistics, in the first quarter of the year, Vietnam's exports to the US reached 31.4 billion USD, up 22% over the same period. In contrast, Vietnam imported 4.1 billion USD from this country, up 21% over the same period.

According to the Prime Minister, due to the impact of US tariff policies, some export sectors (textiles, wooden furniture, etc.) have been adversely affected, while domestic purchasing power has recovered slowly. Administrative procedures are still cumbersome, causing difficulties for businesses and people; the situation of "hot above, cold below" still exists.

The causes of the limitations are both objective and subjective, but mainly due to the rapidly changing, complex, unpredictable world situation, with many unprecedented developments, exceeding forecasts, creating great pressure on the direction and management work. With a large economic openness, while internal capacity is still low, the long-standing shortcomings and weaknesses of the economy are more clearly revealed in difficult conditions.

"The pressure to direct and manage the macro economy is still great, especially interest rates, exchange rates, and inflation control. Production and business activities still face many difficulties, and disbursement of public investment capital is still low," the Prime Minister acknowledged.

In the context of the impact of US tariffs, the Government closely monitors the situation, proactively and flexibly responds to policies, especially with the new US tariffs. The Decree on strategic trade control will be issued by the Government soon, along with increased inspection and supervision of the origin of goods, as well as expanding markets and supply chains. This is to improve the quality and competitiveness of goods and services, and be ready to adapt to developments in the world economy.

At the same time, solutions to support difficulties for businesses and workers affected by US tariff policies are also being urgently developed and implemented by the Government and ministries.

This year, Vietnam aims for GDP growth of 8% or more, economic size of over 500 billion USD (expected to rank 30th in the world) and GDP per capita in 2025 of over 5,000 USD.

To achieve the target in a challenging context, the Government strives to increase state budget revenue by over 15%, adjust the deficit to 4 - 4.5% of GDP when necessary, and save spending, especially regular spending, to increase investment for development.

The government also focuses on restructuring credit institutions in conjunction with dealing with bad debts and handling commercial banks under special control. Disbursement of public investment capital - a long-standing bottleneck - will be accelerated from the beginning of the year, especially in important national projects and works.

Regarding the prevention and fight against smuggling, the Prime Minister said the Government will resolutely deal with trade fraud, counterfeit goods, especially medicines, nutritional products and functional foods, as well as prevent, strictly handle and end false advertising. Unnecessary business investment conditions and administrative procedure processing time will be removed, reduced by at least 30%.

Along with that, the Government proposed to issue a Resolution of the Politburo and the National Assembly on building and developing the private economy as the most important driving force of the economy, and promoting domestic enterprises to participate more deeply in the global value, production and supply chain.

"The economy will be established according to a new model, taking science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as the main driving force," said the Prime Minister.

Looking back at 2024, the Prime Minister said the economy will recover strongly with a GDP growth rate of 7.09%, the highest in the region and among the highest in the world. Vietnam's economic scale will reach 476.3 billion USD, up 3 places and ranking 32nd in the world. GDP per capita in 2024 will reach 4,700 USD, approaching the upper middle-income threshold (4,500 - 12,000 USD). In addition, inflation will be controlled at 3.63%.

Last year's budget revenue reached a record of over VND2,000 trillion, up more than 20% compared to the estimate, exceeding VND342,700 billion; while VND197,300 billion in taxes, fees, charges, and land rents were exempted, reduced, and extended; the money and foreign exchange markets were basically stable, and lending interest rates continued to decrease.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/viet-nam-se-dam-phan-phien-dau-tien-voi-my-vao-7-5-410856.html