Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Trade Minsiter Vu Khoan gave an interview to Nhan Dan Newspaper on the trip of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to the U.S:

Question:What has been achieved through negotiations and meetings with the US side?

Answer: The aim of the visit to the United States this time is to promote economic and trade relations between Vietnam and the United States after the bilateral trade agreement between Vietnam and the United States was ratified and took effect. On this occasion, we have had many meetings with federal and state government officials, especially with the business community. We had three forums on trade and investment in Washington, three others in New York and one in San Francisco.

My feeling was that there is a great interest from the US business community in the Vietnamese market. One US businessman said the opportunity is the second largest one since the United States and China normalised trade relations. Through my meetings with them, there are three things I think they have a great deal of interest in:

The first one is that both the politicians and business community valued the Vietnam - US trade agreement, considering it as a new opening for a new era, some even said it is a 'historic move' in the history of both countries. And they felt optimistic about the relationship between the two countries.

My second impression is that this visit is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to study the US market, especially when the Vietnam - US trade agreement takes effect and what the Vietnamese business community should do to enter this market.

The third impression is that investment from US businesses into Vietnam will have a great opportunity. Many US leading companies, which are also world leading companies, met us and requested specific projects in investment in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese businesses also reached specific contracts and agreements with US partners.

Q: In order to implement the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement well, could you please tell us what Vietnam, especially Vietnamese businesses, should do and what issues should receive attention?

A: The US market has been opened; there is much to do to access it successfully. Firstly Vietnamese businessmen should understand clearly the regulations there because the United States pays special attention to legal aspects. They have federal laws and, at the same time, each state has its own laws. Therefore, laws are very complicated. If we do not get to know them clearly and carefully, the access to the US market will become very difficult. I also asked the US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans as well as the US business community to organise group visits to Vietnam and introduce Vietnamese businesses with their laws. This is because the Vietnamese government