A garment factory in Dong Nai province (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Many Vietnamese enterprises are keeping aclose eye on the escalating US-China trade war and have expressed concern aboutits possible adverse impact on their business.
The US recently raised tariffs on 200 billion USD worth ofChinese products to 25 percent from 10 percent and has started the process ofslapping tariffs on another 300 billion USD worth of Chinese goods. China has announced higher tariffs on thousands of US goodsin retaliation.
Pham Hai Long, General Director of Argex Saigon FoodstuffsJSC, which exports processed foodstuff and seafood to the US and importsfeedstock from China, told Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourers) newspaper: “Thedepreciation of the Chinese yuan, the appreciation of the US dollar againstcurrencies globally and the strong fluctuations in the USD/VND exchange ratehave all affected local exporters.
“[Vietnamese] export companies benefit from the depreciationof the dong, but if the exchange rate goes up strongly, importers will have topay high prices, affecting demand, and Vietnamese enterprises are alsoaffected.”
Therefore, the important thing now is for the Government notto let it fluctuate too strongly, he said.
Pham Ngoc Hung, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City Union ofBusiness Associations, said Vietnam should benefit from the escalation in thetrade war, including in terms of exports.
The trend of Chinese and other foreign firms switching theirinvestments from China to other markets, including Vietnam, would provide afillip to many sectors in Vietnam, he said.
The industrial and commercial property sectors are forecastto grow faster, there would be higher demand for labour and enterprises insupporting industries would get large manufacturers as customers, he said.
But the trick is in actually exploiting these advantages,and strengthen links between local enterprises and foreign investors to buildbrands for the former’s products and exports, he added.
In a recent media interview, Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Chairmanof the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City, said: “To avoidthe impact of the trade war, many Chinese enterprises have shifted theirinvestments to Vietnam, helping boost the development of the woodworkingsector.
“But the shift also poses challenges to Vietnamese firmssince they will have to encounter fierce competition from the Chinese in manyareas, from getting human resources and land to prices.
“Most local firms are still young and lack much experience.This requires Vietnamese firms to make more efforts in their business.”
The association plans to help local firms develop by helpthem with training human resources, promoting furniture brands in internationalmarkets and seeking customers, he said.
Asked if the increase in Vietnam’s furniture exports to theUS could attract higher tariffs, he said: “The US does not want to have a high trade deficit with any country. Ourfurniture exports to the US can increase further, but our import of machineryand timber from this market has also gone up.
“Currently, Vietnam is the second largest importer of UShardwood in Asia.”
Hung and many companies raised the concern that Chinesemanufacturers could ship half-finished products to Vietnam for finishing andexporting to the US under Vietnamese labels.
Vietnamese companies should stay alert and not get involvedwith this, while authorised agencies should closely monitor such activitiesbecause if the US detects this, it might impose taxes, they said.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency, this year Chinahas been the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, with 1.3 billion USD in 187projects and 116 million USD in existing ones.-VNS/VNA
The US recently raised tariffs on 200 billion USD worth ofChinese products to 25 percent from 10 percent and has started the process ofslapping tariffs on another 300 billion USD worth of Chinese goods. China has announced higher tariffs on thousands of US goodsin retaliation.
Pham Hai Long, General Director of Argex Saigon FoodstuffsJSC, which exports processed foodstuff and seafood to the US and importsfeedstock from China, told Nguoi Lao Dong (The Labourers) newspaper: “Thedepreciation of the Chinese yuan, the appreciation of the US dollar againstcurrencies globally and the strong fluctuations in the USD/VND exchange ratehave all affected local exporters.
“[Vietnamese] export companies benefit from the depreciationof the dong, but if the exchange rate goes up strongly, importers will have topay high prices, affecting demand, and Vietnamese enterprises are alsoaffected.”
Therefore, the important thing now is for the Government notto let it fluctuate too strongly, he said.
Pham Ngoc Hung, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City Union ofBusiness Associations, said Vietnam should benefit from the escalation in thetrade war, including in terms of exports.
The trend of Chinese and other foreign firms switching theirinvestments from China to other markets, including Vietnam, would provide afillip to many sectors in Vietnam, he said.
The industrial and commercial property sectors are forecastto grow faster, there would be higher demand for labour and enterprises insupporting industries would get large manufacturers as customers, he said.
But the trick is in actually exploiting these advantages,and strengthen links between local enterprises and foreign investors to buildbrands for the former’s products and exports, he added.
In a recent media interview, Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Chairmanof the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City, said: “To avoidthe impact of the trade war, many Chinese enterprises have shifted theirinvestments to Vietnam, helping boost the development of the woodworkingsector.
“But the shift also poses challenges to Vietnamese firmssince they will have to encounter fierce competition from the Chinese in manyareas, from getting human resources and land to prices.
“Most local firms are still young and lack much experience.This requires Vietnamese firms to make more efforts in their business.”
The association plans to help local firms develop by helpthem with training human resources, promoting furniture brands in internationalmarkets and seeking customers, he said.
Asked if the increase in Vietnam’s furniture exports to theUS could attract higher tariffs, he said: “The US does not want to have a high trade deficit with any country. Ourfurniture exports to the US can increase further, but our import of machineryand timber from this market has also gone up.
“Currently, Vietnam is the second largest importer of UShardwood in Asia.”
Hung and many companies raised the concern that Chinesemanufacturers could ship half-finished products to Vietnam for finishing andexporting to the US under Vietnamese labels.
Vietnamese companies should stay alert and not get involvedwith this, while authorised agencies should closely monitor such activitiesbecause if the US detects this, it might impose taxes, they said.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency, this year Chinahas been the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam, with 1.3 billion USD in 187projects and 116 million USD in existing ones.-VNS/VNA
VNA
