The Vietnamese government wants to develop Ho Chi Minh City into an international financial centre. Will US companies will support Vietnam in this effort?

Ted Osius, president and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council

Many financial companies are in Vietnam as part of the delegation I have been involved in, and all of us are very excited about this effort to ensure that Ho Chi Minh City is an effective, forward-looking financial centre. There are still steps to be taken, and we believe that those will be taken in conjunction with American and other businesses.

I will be moving to Ho Chi Minh City in a few months because I think the opportunities in the city are fantastic. I want to be part of this effort to make Ho Chi Minh an international financial centre.

What is the possibility of the current US administration imposing tariffs on Vietnamese imports?

We think that the risk of tariffs is real. There are reciprocal and sectoral tariffs being imposed on many countries around the world. Vietnam has one of the highest trade surpluses with the United States globally, after China and Canada.

What we are recommending is to take proactive steps to mitigate these tariffs. We’re urging the Vietnamese government to buy our liquefied natural gas, aircraft, and agricultural products such as soybeans, fruit, and tree nuts.

Vietnam also should take proactive steps to ensure that transshipments are not occurring through Vietnam, that other countries are not taking advantage of the current situation to shift their goods through Vietnam.

The good news is the Vietnamese government has indicated an intention to be even more proactive in addressing this issue. The opening of the market is particularly important right now, with fairly high tariffs on US agricultural goods. Bringing those tariffs down will allow a level playing field and allow exporters to bring their products into the United States. The government has also been very proactive on the issue of transshipments. There are operations that are critical to America’s supply chain resilience and security.

A lot of these operations are actually run by our member companies, including the ones on this mission, and those operations are not the ones that are targeted. The ones that are targeted are those where other countries are using Vietnam to export their goods to the United States.

So, there’s been plenty of collaboration between the US government and the Vietnamese government in this area, particularly with customs and border protection. We think further progress in this area will be welcomed in Washington. Those are the suggestions that we have made during our visit.

It is said that more than half of foreign investors in Vietnam report losses, but have still expanded. What will be the driving factors for the country to pull in more investment?

Given the fact that there is uncertainty globally, companies are going to go to places where they feel they have the best chances of making money, and where they believe that the environment is reliable.

There’s tremendous interest for US companies in Vietnam, because of its high growth rate, the talented workforce and the government which is very responsive to the concerns that our companies put forward and on this last point.

The restructuring that has taken place is viewed positively by so many of our companies. It is seen as a way to ensure that internal obstacles are smoother and easier to overcome, and that is crucial to create a better business environment.

Some companies may be reporting losses, but the foreign investment inflow keeps coming as the companies keep coming, and trade continues to take place. There was a big debate over a long time about Vietnam’s market economy status.

The fact is, our companies aren’t really particularly interested in what the US Commerce Department says about such a status. Our companies are interested in the opportunities in Vietnam, and they remain committed to this relationship, and new ones are coming in all the time.