At a factory making electronic components (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Although the US isdeemed a promising market for exporters, it also sets very strict importregulations. For this reason, Vietnamese enterprises are urged to improve theircapacity and shake hands with others to develop supply chains to make inroadsinto this market.
In the first half of 2018, the US continued totop Vietnam’s export markets with 21.6 billion USD as of mid-July, accountingfor 19 percent of the latter’s total export revenue.
According to statistics from the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, Vietnam mostly shipped seafood, textile and garments,footwear, wood and timber products, computers, electronics and parts, andagricultural products to the US. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s imports from the US includedcomputers, electrical components, cotton, animal feed and related materials,soy beans, and machinery and equipment.
However, the US has become very tough on importerswith a series of trade tactics such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties thatrequire Vietnamese businesses to be more developed in order to gain a footholdin this market, said Tran Quoc Manh, Chairman of the Sai Gon Trade andProduction Development Corporation (Sadaco).
According to Manh, wooden furniture sent to theUS is one of Vietnam’s five largest foreign currency earners. The US’ ordersfor wooden furniture from Vietnam are considerable, with several hundredcontainers each month. Those looking to export to this market must be able tofulfil such large orders and produce pieces of furniture that reach a highlevel of finesse.
Vietnamese firms need to expand their scale anduse automated production lines to satisfy these requirements, he suggested.
Other experts forecast that the US’s stricterrules on imports of seafood and agricultural products will raise costs andreduce the competitive edge of Vietnamese exporters. In the long term, tosustain access to this market, local firms must adapt themselves to such rulesand strictly follow food safety regulations.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do ThangHai warned that new changes in the US’ trade policy is likely to have majorimpacts on exports of many Vietnamese key items, so that it may becomedifficult to maintain the current shipments, let alone boost exports, to the USmarket.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade encouragesdomestic enterprises to build supply chains in order to add greater value togoods to be exported to the US, Hai said, adding that the ministry is ready toassist firms in this matter.
According to James Fatheree, head of the USChamber of Commerce in Asia, firms from the US are turning more attentiontowards the Vietnamese market as it holds a number of advantages in term ofdemographics, high economic growth, and progress in economic reform. Notably,they highly appreciated Vietnam’s human resources development alongside its improvedbusiness climate driven by the reforms of political institutions and publicadministration services.
Experts proposed that the Vietnamese Governmentshould help ease barriers for domestic businesses by cutting publicadministrative fees and holding trade promotion events for them.
At the same time, the Government must keepregularly updated on changes in the US’ trade policy in order to come up withproper measures to support its firms in terms of production and businessstrategy so as to maintain their competitive advantages in this market. Furtherstepping up the building of a fairer and more transparent legal system is alsoa must, not only to draw in more foreign investment, but also to facilitate thedevelopment of local enterprises.–VNA
In the first half of 2018, the US continued totop Vietnam’s export markets with 21.6 billion USD as of mid-July, accountingfor 19 percent of the latter’s total export revenue.
According to statistics from the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, Vietnam mostly shipped seafood, textile and garments,footwear, wood and timber products, computers, electronics and parts, andagricultural products to the US. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s imports from the US includedcomputers, electrical components, cotton, animal feed and related materials,soy beans, and machinery and equipment.
However, the US has become very tough on importerswith a series of trade tactics such as anti-dumping and countervailing duties thatrequire Vietnamese businesses to be more developed in order to gain a footholdin this market, said Tran Quoc Manh, Chairman of the Sai Gon Trade andProduction Development Corporation (Sadaco).
According to Manh, wooden furniture sent to theUS is one of Vietnam’s five largest foreign currency earners. The US’ ordersfor wooden furniture from Vietnam are considerable, with several hundredcontainers each month. Those looking to export to this market must be able tofulfil such large orders and produce pieces of furniture that reach a highlevel of finesse.
Vietnamese firms need to expand their scale anduse automated production lines to satisfy these requirements, he suggested.
Other experts forecast that the US’s stricterrules on imports of seafood and agricultural products will raise costs andreduce the competitive edge of Vietnamese exporters. In the long term, tosustain access to this market, local firms must adapt themselves to such rulesand strictly follow food safety regulations.
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do ThangHai warned that new changes in the US’ trade policy is likely to have majorimpacts on exports of many Vietnamese key items, so that it may becomedifficult to maintain the current shipments, let alone boost exports, to the USmarket.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade encouragesdomestic enterprises to build supply chains in order to add greater value togoods to be exported to the US, Hai said, adding that the ministry is ready toassist firms in this matter.
According to James Fatheree, head of the USChamber of Commerce in Asia, firms from the US are turning more attentiontowards the Vietnamese market as it holds a number of advantages in term ofdemographics, high economic growth, and progress in economic reform. Notably,they highly appreciated Vietnam’s human resources development alongside its improvedbusiness climate driven by the reforms of political institutions and publicadministration services.
Experts proposed that the Vietnamese Governmentshould help ease barriers for domestic businesses by cutting publicadministrative fees and holding trade promotion events for them.
At the same time, the Government must keepregularly updated on changes in the US’ trade policy in order to come up withproper measures to support its firms in terms of production and businessstrategy so as to maintain their competitive advantages in this market. Furtherstepping up the building of a fairer and more transparent legal system is alsoa must, not only to draw in more foreign investment, but also to facilitate thedevelopment of local enterprises.–VNA
VNA
