A canned fish factory in the Tac Cau Fishing Port's Industrial Park in Binh An commune of Chau Thanh district, Kien Giang province (Photo: VNA)The two shared the view that Vietnam - US relations are developingstrongly in all aspects, believing ties between the two countries, with the rightdevelopment orientations, will continue to grow, with economic and tradecooperation being the main driver of bilateral links.
Minister Anh voiced his deep concern over the US officially launchinginvestigations into Vietnam’s monetary policy and timber imports and use underSection 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974.
This investigation could cause many unwanted effects that may not only harmbilateral relations, strategic trust, and efforts to enhance cooperation butalso adversely affect thousands of enterprises and millions of workers andconsumers in both Vietnam and the US, he held.
He affirmed the Government’s view that Vietnam is a developing countrywith limited economic strength, and the governance of its monetary policy ismeant to control inflation and keep macro-economic stability, not to create anunfair competitive advantage in international trade.
The purchase and sale of foreign currencies in the recent past was notintended to devaluate its currency but to consolidate its forex reserves, whichare low compared to regional countries, so as to help enhance nationalfinancial and monetary security and the national credit rating, Anh stated.
Timber imports and use are now under strict management and meet everylegal regulation, he went on.
With great respect for the laws of both countries, Vietnam is ready towork closely with and actively assist the US during its investigation, theminister noted.
He also asked Lighthizer to direct the USTR Office to conduct fair,thorough, and transparent investigations and carefully consider every issue andpossible impact of any action in order to make the most objective andreasonable conclusions for the probes, thereby wrapping up the cases withoutimposing duties on Vietnamese goods.
For his part, the trade representative highly valued the outcomes of therecent substantive and effective policy dialogue via the TIFA Council mechanism,saying that in just a very short period of time, the two sides have discussedand sought solutions to many economic and trade issues.
Regarding the US launching probes under Section 301, he noted that theUSTR Office is still in the investigation process and considering all opinions,and has yet to talk about any conclusions with Vietnam.
Baseless information regarding the USTR’s plan to impose duties onVietnamese exports is completely inaccurate, he declared.
Minister Anh said the policy dialogue via the TIFA Council mechanism hasreaped a number of substantive outcomes recently and that under the PrimeMinister’s directions, leaders of Vietnamese ministries and sectors haveactively coordinated with the US to deal with a range of issues and gainedconcrete outcomes, helping to strongly promote bilateral trade.
In the time ahead, ministries and sectors in Vietnam will continue theirproactive cooperation with US counterparts to comprehensively address the concernsof both countries, thereby maintaining stable trade links and working towards aharmonious, sustainable, and mutually beneficial trade balance, he added./.
VNA
