Vietnam has two multilateral and bilateral FTAs with the Americas. — VNA/VNS
HANOI: Vietnam’s trade activities with the Americas have been boosted, thanks to effective exploitation of free trade agreements (FTAs).
The director of the Department of the Americas Market, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ta Hoang Linh, outlined the positive results while addressing a conference of Vietnam’s trade counsellors and heads of the trade offices in American countries.
The conference was organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade on Nov 18 in Rio de Janeiro City, Brazil, connecting to the ministry’s online meeting room in Hanoi.
To date, Vietnam has two multilateral and bilateral FTAs with the Americas, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), of which Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile are members, and the Vietnam-Chile FTA.
In addition to these FTAs, Vietnam has signed a number of trade agreements with partners in the Americas region such as the Vietnam-United States Bilateral Trade Agreement and the Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement.
The above FTAs and cooperation agreements have made an important contribution to promoting trade relations between Vietnam and countries in the Americas.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first 10 months of 2024, Vietnam’s trade value with the Americas region reached more than US$136.5bil, an increase of 20.7% over the same period in 2023.
Exports reached more than US$114.9bil, an increase of 22.3%, while imports reached US$21.6bil, an increase of 12.6% over the same period in 2023.
The trade surplus reached US$93.3bil.
During the first 10 months, the United States, CPTPP’s member countries and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) continued to be the largest importers of Vietnamese goods, reaching US$98.7bil (up 24.6%); US$11.3bil (up 15.4%) and US$2.8bil (down 9.3%), respectively.
Meanwhile, the United States, Mercosur and CPTPP member countries continued to be important partners with import turnover from those markets reaching US$12.2bil (up 7.9%), US$7.4bil (up 20.9%) and US$1.8bil (up 15.3%), respectively.
This year, Vietnam’s trade growth rate with the Americas is estimated to also increase faster than the national average.
Vietnam’s trade with the Americas had achieved impressive growth results recently, Linh said.
However, there were still many uncertain factors in the world, which would affect the trade growth momentum.
In addition, Vietnam’s exports to the Americas still had some limitations, so they were especially sensitive to fluctuations in the world economy.
Linh also pointed out that Vietnam had a very strong trade surplus with the American markets (US$91.3bil in 2023), but this was mainly due to trade activities with the United States (US$83.2bil).
It also posted a large surplus with some other important markets, such as Brazil (US$2.2bil) and Argentina (US$1.49bil).
In addition to industrial products, the Industry and Trade Ministry recommends that higher priority should be given to agricultural products, processed foods, seafood and products made by local enterprises.
Vietnam’s trade offices in the Americas will prioritise finding new and niche markets for Vietnamese goods in the region.
The ministry will also propose appropriate solutions to gradually increase exports and reasonably control imports, towards trade balance. — Viet Nam News/ANN
