The number was reported at an international workshop hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Amcham) and American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) in HCMC.
Preliminary statistics show that the cargo export turnover of Vietnam to the US in September was $3.62 billion, taking the total turnover during the first nine months this year to nearly $31 billion, up 9.4 percent over the same period last year.
Still Vietnam’s export to the US is forecast to meet with difficulties as the US Government has applied many technical barriers including safety standards to boost export, reduce trade deficit, create jobs and develop domestic market. This will put Vietnamese businesses into a direct competition with American firms.
Moreover, tax rates imposed on Vietnamese goods are much higher than goods from other nations such as Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Thailand and Cambodia. They are as high as 17-30 percent on some products.
At present, tax from Vietnamese goods import accounts for 10.11 percent of the US’s import tariff, ranking second after the amount collected from Chinese goods.
Delegates at the conference said that Vietnam should speed up negotiating Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Vietnam-EAEU and Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreements to increase export room for Vietnamese businesses.
US Consul General to HCMC Mary Tarnowka stressed that the Vietnamese Government must intensify building a fair and transparent legal system. That is the key factor to lure foreign investors and create conditions for domestic businesses to develop in the upcoming time.
Businesses themselves must abide by all regulations relating to product safety in order not to be removed out from the US market.
