Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc has rejected news report saying that the US Government temporarily suspend importing garment products from Viet Nam.

EU and US authorities have yet to limit the import of garment products from Viet Nam.

The Vietnamese Embassy in the US contacted and exchanged with the US relevant agencies and officially confirmed that the US Government has no policy of temporarily halting garment import from the Southeast Asian country, Ngoc said.

The US has been among Viet Nam’s major trading partners and one of the largest importers of Vietnamese products.

According to the US Department of Commerce, bilateral trade value hit US$77.6 billion in 2019, making Viet Nam among the US’ top 15 biggest trade partners.

In the first two months of 2020, exports to the US witnessed a year-on-year increase of 25.7%, reaching US$10.26 billion.

Garment exports to the US stood at US$15 billion last year, making up 45% of the country’s total garment export value.

During the first two months of 2020, garment exports to the US picked up 5.3% against the same period last year, to US$2.25 billion, accounting for nearly 48%.

Earlier on March 20, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh also said that EU and US authorities have yet to limit the import of garment products from Viet Nam during a meeting of the ministry’s steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control on March 20.

At a working session between the ministry with the EU Delegation to Viet Nam and the US Embassy, the EU officials affirmed the EU’s border shutdown is meant to protect people’s health. Goods and services to the EU, especially necessities such as food and medicine, are still circulating so that the policy is not directly impacting Viet Nam – EU trade.

Regarding bilateral cooperation in COVID-19 prevention and control, Ngoc said that Viet Nam-US medical cooperation in general and in fighting COVID-19 in particular have gained positive achievements.

Since late January 2020, the two sides’ medical agencies and specialists have exchanged information and statistics in response to the pandemic. The Vietnamese Embassy in the US has set up a regular communication channel with the US Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The US Government announced that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will finance US$37 million for countries in the region, including Viet Nam to cope with the transmissions of COVID-19 pandemic, Ngoc said.