US Lawyer: Obama Administration Will Expand Trade with Vietnam

The Obama administration will continue to increase bilateral open trade with Vietnam though Democrats are poised to protect U.S. products, a former senior official of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has said.

 

Jay Eizenstat lawyer, a former director of Director for Customs Affairs of USTR noted during a dialogue on trade policies of the Obama administration and recommendations by Vietnam which was co-held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Miller & Chevalier in Hanoi on Mar 3.

 

So far there have not been any changes made by the Obama administration in bilateral trade policy with Vietnam, and bilateral trade will be further expanded in coming months, Jay Eizenstat said.

 

Washington will mull over measures to protect benefits of US consumers amid the global downturn, who tend to pick up low-cost imports from China, Thailand and Vietnam, he said.

 

There will unlikely be not changes of imports from Vietnam, many predicted.

 

Meanwhile, Nguyen Son, deputy secretary of Vinatex said the Obama administration has no new policies that affect apparels exports of Vietnam.

 

The U.S. Department of Commerce has recently said that bilateral trade between Hanoi and Washington grew 23.61 per cent on year to US$15.283 billion in 2008, and of the that sum, Vietnam exported US$12.610 billion worth of goods, up 19.60 per cent on year while the U.S. shipped US$2.673 billion to Vietnam, rising 46.60 per cent from a year ago. (News)