Vietnam Trade Minister to Travel to US in June

Vietnam Trade Minister to Travel to US in June

Vietnam Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen has announced that he will fly to the US this June to settle issues prior to the two countries' negotiations on the accession of Vietnam to the World Trade Organization (WTO).  

Tuyen made the statement on the sidelines of the National Trade Conference being held in Hanoi from February 28-March 1.

"The US is a hard partner and it is not easy for Vietnam to pass WTO talks with such a nation," Tuyen said, adding that he will make another trip to the US later this year when the two countries officially start negotiating on Vietnam's entry to the global trade body.

Tuyen, however, confirmed that his country is attempting to join the WTO late this year.

He was optimistic about results of bilateral talks between Vietnam and seven WTO member countries last week. They include Japan, Canada, Australia, India, Ireland, Colombia, Switzerland and New Zealand. 

It is the first time that Vietnam has held negotiations with New Zealand in Hanoi, the minister said. The two countries, however, reached some agreements, he said, revealing that Vietnam decided not to impose quotas on milk products imported from New Zealand after the talk.

Vietnam Ambassador to WTO Ngo Quang Xuan also shared the same opinion with the trade minister in a recent interview with a local newspaper.

Vietnam and the seven countries put on table more details on the opening of Vietnam’s services market at the talks, the diplomat said. Particularly, Vietnam and Japan had thorough discussions on the fields of finance and banking, post and telecoms, and transport.

Vietnam is striving to hold more bilateral negotiations with other partners before the tenth round of multilateral negotiations on the country's WTO entry takes place in April, the ambassador said.

So far, Vietnam has completed six bilateral deals with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, the European Union and Singapore. It still has to complete talks with 21 more partners, including the US and Japan.
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