Socialist Republic of Vietnam

On 24 June, answering Dow Jones correspondent's question about Vietnam's comments on alleged failure of the 8th round of negotiations over the trade agreement between Vietnam and the U.S., the foreign ministry spokesperson said:

Answer: The correspondent's remark on the results of the 8th round of negotiations over the trade agreement between Vietnam and the U.S. was impractical. The head of the Vietnamese delegation and the American trade representative have noted much progress made during this round.

At the recent round, the two sides considerably narrowed differences in the remaining issues. For its part, Vietnam offered new suggestions suitable to international trade standards and showed great efforts aimed at normalizing the economic and trade relations between Vietnam and the U.S.

In order to sign a trade agreement which is feasible and to meet the two countries' interests, we see it necessary for the U.S. side to show a better understanding of Vietnam's economic conditions. It is hopeful that the following contacts will take place toward this direction.