A trade and industry forum with partners from the Americas is due to be held by the Europe-America Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade on September 25 in Hanoi for the purpose of enhancing trade and industrial co-operation with firms in both North America and South America.

The event aims to provide the latest information on changes occurring in trade and the economic policies of nations in the Americas, to offer an analysis on the market situation and demand for Vietnamese export industries in the current period. This will be done to identify opportunities and solutions in a bid to promote exports and attract greater investment from the region, especially in the context of trade agreements being implemented.

A large number of delegates from businesses and Vietnamese craft associations and those from other countries in the Americas are scheduled to participate in the occasion. They will be joined by representatives from various trade promotion organisations, embassies, and media agencies, in addition to the online participation of Vietnamese Counselors and trade representatives in the Americas in an effort to facilitate access for businesses to information whilst receiving direct advice from host nations.

According to the Export and Import Report 2019, the total import and export turnover in 2019 between Vietnam and the Americas witnessed extremely strong growth of US$95.12 billion, representing an annual rise of 23.73%.

Most notably, import-export turnover with the US reached US$75.71 billion, a rise of 25.6% from the previous year and accounting for 79.6% of the nation’s total import and export to both North America and South America market.

Last year saw the country’s trade surplus to the Americas stand at approximately US$50.68 billion, with exports to the market reaching US$72.9 billion, representing a rise of 28.07% on-year, while imports from the rose to US$ 22.2 billion, an increase of 11.33%.

These positive sign is largely attributable to strong growth occurring in both the import and export of Vietnamese products to the market following the enforcement of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on January 14, 2019, along with the impact of the US-China trade war. 

In terms of the Americas, the US is viewed as the largest market for local exports, making up 23.2% of the country's total export turnover during the past year. Indeed, the country’s exports to the US in 2019 hit a record high of US$69.34 billion, while imports reached US$14.37 billion, therefore raising the trade surplus with the US to US$47 billion.

The nation’s trade turnover with Canada last year reached a figure of US$4.77 billion, a rise of 23.3% from 2018, of which exports stood at US$3.91 billion, up 29.8%, whilst import hit US$861 million, up 0.4%.

Furthermore, Vietnamese firms took advantage of the implementation of the CPTPP to move into the Latin American bloc, including Mexico, Peru, and Chile.