The
United States is continuing to strengthen its commercial relationship with
Vietnam, a rapidly-growing country that offers U.S. businesses and workers
substantial opportunities for expanded trade and investment, promoting economic
growth and development, and supporting jobs.
U.S.-Vietnam goods trade totaled $451 million in 1995, the year the
United States and Vietnam normalized diplomatic relations, and since then has
increased nearly a hundredfold to $45 billion.
Our
relationship is fast-growing: In 2015,
U.S. exports to Vietnam grew by 23 percent, the largest year-on-year increase
of exports to any of America’s top 50 export markets. Over the period 2010 to 2015, Vietnam was the
second fastest growing of America’s top 50 export markets.
Our
relationship is diversifying: U.S.
export growth is high in sectors ranging from integrated circuits to civil
aircraft, and cotton, dairy, tree/fruit nuts, and other agricultural products. In the last five years Vietnam has developed
an important role as a supplier of high-tech consumer products to the United
States.
Our
relationship is inclusive: Trade
included small and family businesses in both countries as well as large
firms. As of 2014, 6,031 small- and
medium-sized American firms exported to Vietnam while 5,895 small- and
medium-sized U.S. businesses imported Vietnamese goods.
We are
now taking the next step. In addition to
witnessing over $16 billion in deal signings to advance aviation and energy
sector development in Vietnam and support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs,
President Obama’s visit highlights our commitment in the following areas:
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
TPP is
central to our goal of deepening the U.S.-Vietnamese economic relationship. The Administration has made securing
ratification of TPP a top priority and is working with Vietnam and other TPP
partners to help them ensure timely and complete implementation of their TPP
commitments. TPP will create new
opportunities for American and Vietnamese workers and businesses, including
small businesses; promote innovation and the digital economy; foster fair
competition, transparency, and good governance; and promote workers’ rights,
conservation, and sustainable growth. It
also is a critical step toward our strategic goal of revitalizing the open,
rules-based economic system that the United States has led since World War
II.
The U.S.
government will commit resources and technical expertise to support Vietnam and
our other TPP partners to implement and effectively enforce the obligations of
the agreement. To support Vietnam, the
United States is providing more than $30 million in capacity building
assistance, which will include work to ensure freedom of association, including
independent unions, and other internationally recognized labor rights;
protection and enforcement of intellectual property; and environmental
protection and sustainable growth.
U.S. Corporate Social Responsibility
U.S.
foreign direct investment in Vietnam grew to $1.5 billion in 2014 and has been
complemented by U.S. corporate citizenship investments in Vietnam’s communities
and environment. U.S. firms in Vietnam
uphold high standards of corporate citizenship by investing in the communities
and environment in which they do business.
For example, U.S. companies in Vietnam have trained hundreds of
engineers on environmental protection and sustainable development, donated over
$12 million in software and services to support hundreds of non-governmental
organizations, and enhanced the skillset of tens of thousands of teachers and
students in the use of information and communication technology. The U.S.
government is committed to supporting public-private partnerships that
encourage corporate social responsibility by U.S. firms:
A USAID
partnership with Arizona State University and several U.S. companies is
enabling university-private sector collaboration, and developing curriculum
partnerships, mentorships, and industry-sponsored practical opportunities.
Numerous
U.S. companies are collaborating on a new USAID alliance with Harvard Medical
School and two Boston-area hospitals to improve the quality and effectiveness
of medical education in Vietnam, including in areas relevant to the Global
Health Security Agenda.
In 2016,
Cargill Vietnam won the U.S. Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate
Excellence for its long-term commitment to investing in its farmer-partners,
supporting community health, and training over 12,000 farmers in sustainable
production techniques. Cargill Vietnam’s
Cargill Cares school building program has built and delivered 76 schools across
rural communities, benefiting more than 13,000 children per year.
A Whole-of-Government Approach to Partnership
The
United States employs a whole-of-government approach to support U.S. exports to
and investment in Vietnam, including programs that promote sustainable and
inclusive economic growth, encourage legitimate and accountable governance
while addressing trade barriers, support corporate social responsibility, and
strengthen the rule of law and business climate.
U.S.-ASEAN Connect Initiative
Through
U.S.-ASEAN Connect, the U.S. government will work with Vietnam and other
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to foster the
policy environments that promote ASEAN economic integration, increase trade and
investment, assist the development of clean energy and energy connectivity, and
spur sustainable, innovation-led economic growth.
U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID)
USAID’s
economic growth and governance programs will support Vietnam’s efforts to
promote greater transparency and accountability, economic openness,
competition, and the rule of law in economic affairs. USAID has contributed to over 150 laws and
related regulations and decrees, and assisted more than 50 Vietnamese
government agency counterparts in the legal and economic reform process.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Vietnam
now ranks as the United States’ 11th-largest agricultural export market. To burgeon this relationship, USDA will
assist Vietnam’s capacity building on a wide range of areas, including: food safety, climate-smart agriculture,
biotechnology, animal health, plant health, modern retail/distribution, and
other sector-specific topics.
U.S. Department of Commerce
The U.S.
Department of Commerce will work alongside the U.S. private sector to assist
Vietnam in developing the strong infrastructure the country requires to meet
its goals of economic modernization by 2035.
The Department commits to arranging annual private sector meetings with
the appropriate ministries, in addition to continuing its
infrastructure-focused conferences in areas such as healthcare, aviation, smart
cities, and clean energy.
The
Department plans on leading a Water Infrastructure Business Development Mission
to Vietnam in July 2016, to introduce new technologies and internationally
recognized codes and standards to strengthen Vietnam’s water sector. The Department also plans to organize a Civil
Nuclear Trade Mission in 2017, supporting U.S.-Vietnamese industry cooperation
in the development of Vietnam’s civil nuclear program.
U.S. Department of State
The U.S.
Department of State has contributed to Vietnam’s development of a science-based
regulatory system to address trade and food security issues including on
agricultural biotechnology through activities that have reached hundreds of
Vietnamese policymakers, scientists, academics, and journalists.
U.S. Department of the Treasury
To build
a more transparent and accountable financial reporting infrastructure, the U.S.
Department of the Treasury’s Office of Technical Assistance (OTA) will continue
to provide Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance technical assistance toward the
creation of country-wide training programs on International Public Sector
Accounting Standards; accounting resources and tools, including financial
statement reports and templates; and user guide manuals that will document the
Whole-of-Government consolidated financial statement preparation process.
U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank)
Since
2009, EXIM Bank has authorized over $800 million in loans, guarantees and
insurance to support U.S. exports – from businesses large and small – to
Vietnam. These exports have supported
U.S.-Vietnam economic engagement across multiple sectors including renewable
energy, aviation, and manufacturing.
These U.S. exports not only support thousands of jobs in the United
States, but also create jobs and boost infrastructure investment in Vietnam.
EXIM will
remain actively engaged on future opportunities to finance U.S. exports to
Vietnam, particularly those that also support Vietnam’s infrastructure
development needs. EXIM Bank reaffirms
its interest in supporting U.S. exports for civil nuclear power projects in
Vietnam.
U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)
USTDA
will continue to connect U.S. businesses to priority projects in Vietnam’s
clean energy, information technology, transportation, and water sectors. By building mutually beneficial partnerships
that leverage capital for Vietnam’s infrastructure development, the Agency will
expand upon the $3 billion in U.S. exports that it has already helped
facilitate to Vietnam.
USTDA is
committed to helping strengthen Vietnam's aviation safety oversight. In the energy sector the Agency is
facilitating the development of 470 megawatts of wind power generation, which
could leverage over $1 billion in investment.
In urban transportation, USTDA is supporting a $100 million information
and communication technology deployment for the Ho Chi Minh City metro rail
system.
To
support Vietnam’s shift from coal-fired power generation, USTDA will sponsor a
natural gas reverse trade mission to the United States in fall 2016. The visit will highlight the United States’
experience in the construction, operation, maintenance, and refurbishment of
gas-fired power plants and related infrastructure.
Through
its Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI), USTDA will
partner with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to design a database to
track and monitor the performance of contractors who provide billions of
dollars in goods and services to the Government of Vietnam each year.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
As the
U.S. government’s development finance institution, OPIC will leverage its newly
opened office in Southeast Asia to unlock opportunities that support Vietnam's
economic development through private sector investment in all sectors, with
particular attention to renewable energy and aviation infrastructure.
Since
2003, OPIC has provided more than $40 million in financing and insurance
support to seven projects in Vietnam.
OPIC’s investments have cut across sectors, including communications,
manufacturing, consulting and economic development services, aquaculture, and
power generation.
The White
House
No comments:
Post a Comment