Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in Washington, D.C. on May 22, as part of his four-day working visit to the US to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation and review progress in negotiations on a reciprocal trade agreement between the two countries.

Vietnam and the US hold the second negotiation session of the bilateral agreement on reciprocal trade in Washington D.C from May 19 to 22. - Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

At their meeting, the two officials agreed that Vietnam and the US have highly complementary economies with great potential for cooperation.

Dien stated that Vietnam has a strong and stable demand for US products, equipment, and services, especially in hi-tech and energy sectors. He affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to fostering a transparent and healthy trade environment, noting that Vietnam stands ready to boost coordination with the US side in combating trade fraud, origin fraud, and illegal transshipment.

With its goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045, Vietnam considers the US one of its key strategic partners and seeks to advance economic and trade relations in a balanced, sustainable, and win-win manner, the Vietnamese minister said.

He called on the US side to work with Vietnam to resolve existing economic and trade issues, soon recognise Vietnam's market economy status, and remove the country from export control lists (D1, D3) that limit access to high-tech products. Dien emphasised that these steps will deliver practical benefits to both nations and help improve the trade balance in a fair, harmonious, and sustainable direction.

For his part, Lutnick praised Vietnam's efforts and goodwill in negotiating a bilateral reciprocal trade agreement and welcomed the two countries’ strengthened cooperation in hi-tech sectors and industries with high-added value.

He said Vietnam is an important and attractive market for US firms, expressing his hope that Vietnam will continue to facilitate the US’s investment projects, contributing to expanding two-way trade, particularly by increasing imports of US goods.

The two sides agreed to continue promoting technical dialogues and maintaining high-level exchanges to achieve substantive progress in their negotiations, towards establishing a stable and long-term economic and trade cooperation framework.

During his trip, Dien on May 21 had meetings with Senator Ted Cruz, Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, and Senator Steve Daines, a member of the Senate Committees on Finance and Foreign Relations.

The minister emphasised Vietnam’s commitment to promoting bilateral economic and trade cooperation in a harmonious and sustainable manner that brings tangible benefits to people and businesses of the two nations.

He affirmed that the Southeast Asian nation always creates the best possible conditions for US companies to invest and do business effectively in Vietnam, and hopes the US side to consider Vietnam a priority trade partner, especially as the two countries have officially upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Regarding the bilateral trade negotiation process, Dien stated that Vietnam is ready to closely cooperate with the US towards a trade agreement based on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, balanced interests, and conformity with international commitments and each country’s level of development. He also called on the senators to support and help advance this process.

The US senators highly evaluated the Vietnamese market’s growth potential, particularly in terms of industry, energy, high technology, and digital economy. They noted that many US businesses are closely monitoring Vietnam’s policies and investment environment, and seeking ways to expand their business operations and establish long-term investments in this strategic market within the Asia-Pacific region.

The two sides hoped that the Vietnam – US comprehensive cooperation will be further strengthened and further developed, especially as the global economy undergoes strong supply chain restructuring and expands into dynamic and stable markets like Vietnam.