"TPP helps Vietnam-US strengthen trade relations"

On April 23, at the Presidential Palace, President Truong Tan Sang received Ambassador Demetrios James Marantis, Acting US Trade Representative, who is visiting and working in Vietnam.

President Truong Tan Sang received Ambassador James Marantis, Acting US Trade Representative, who is visiting and working in Vietnam.
(Photo: Nguyen Khang/VNA)

At the reception, President Truong Tan Sang welcomed the Ambassador to visit Vietnam and promote the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement - TPP. The President believed that through the active coordination between members of the two negotiating delegations, the TPP negotiation agreements would help the two countries strengthen their economic and trade relations.

The President appreciated the US's support in the TPP negotiations and affirmed that the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam created favorable conditions for the TPP negotiations to take place smoothly and achieve the desired results.

The President briefly introduced Vietnam's economic strengths and believed that the Ambassador and members would take the time to learn about the specifics of Vietnam's investment, trade and labor environment to reach consensus in the negotiations.

The President suggested that both sides should increase exchanges and shorten the TPP negotiation roadmap. Vietnam will make maximum efforts and hopes to receive technical assistance from the US to promote successful negotiations, creating a premise to elevate the Vietnam-US relationship.

The Ambassador highly appreciated the activities of the President during his attendance at APEC in Hawaii (USA) in November 2011. The Ambassador said that in order to complete the TPP negotiations in October this year, the US and Vietnam still need to discuss many issues to reach an agreement.

Agreeing with the President's proposals, the Ambassador stated that both sides need to make efforts to narrow the gap in awareness in the fields of goods, services, investment, etc. In addition, in the fields of labor and environment, Vietnam and the US also need a mechanism to unify criteria and resolve disputes if they arise.
Sharing with Vietnam the difficulties in integration, the Ambassador affirmed that the US is ready to provide technical support to help Vietnam overcome them.

Believing that with the experience from the results of the Vietnam-US trade cooperation negotiations, the WTO, Vietnam and the US will soon reach the TPP Agreement, the Ambassador believes that Vietnam will create more jobs, boost economic and trade growth, and improve the investment environment. The Ambassador hopes that, in his position, the President will continue to create favorable conditions for the successful TPP negotiations.

On the afternoon of April 23, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh received Acting US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis.

At the reception, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh highly appreciated the important progress that the two countries have achieved in many areas such as economic cooperation, trade, investment... Enterprises of the two countries have actively and proactively researched the market, expanded investment, created jobs for many workers, and contributed positively to the economic and social development of each country.

The Deputy Prime Minister also affirmed that Vietnam is fully aware of the significance and importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), and hopes that all parties will make efforts to complete the negotiations soon. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh suggested that the US and Vietnamese negotiating teams coordinate closely and seriously consider the remaining issues to discuss solutions to narrow the gap in the negotiations.

Acting US Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis thanked the Deputy Prime Minister for taking the time to meet him and expressed: The US Government highly appreciates the specific results in trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. Thanks to the efforts of the Governments and businesses of the two countries, bilateral trade cooperation between Vietnam and the US has developed strongly in recent times. The US is currently Vietnam's largest export market, with two-way trade turnover increasing from 2 billion USD in 2001 to 26 billion USD in 2012./.

According to (TTXVN) - LT