According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, Viet Nam and the United States have already held five rounds of negotiations, and a sixth round is expected to be held next week. The general spirit is for both sides to strive for positive changes and work towards reaching agreement on the issues.

To achieve progress, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan stated that the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the negotiating team must coordinate closely with relevant ministries and agencies, report to and seek opinions from competent authorities. The negotiation plan is being developed in a positive direction; Viet Nam has provided the US side with necessary information, including lists of goods, tariffs, and related parameters, with the aim of facilitating access for US goods to the Vietnamese market.

The Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade also stated that while a trade deficit exists, it is not due to direct competition with other countries, but rather to the specific characteristics of the division of labor and production within the supply chain. Other countries' goods are high-quality products, while Vietnamese goods have different characteristics.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan expressed his hope that the upcoming negotiations would reach a consensus, despite the high demands from the US side, some of which exceeded the negotiating team's capacity to meet, posing difficulties for the negotiating delegation. In light of this, Viet Nam will persistently explain and persuade in a constructive spirit.

Besides trade negotiations, Viet Nam is also stepping up activities to promote and attract investment from the United States, encouraging US businesses to participate in production in Viet Nam, and continuing to create favorable conditions for US goods to be imported into Viet Nam, thereby contributing to gradually narrowing the trade deficit.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan emphasized that in 2026, Viet Nam will persistently persuade partners; encourage businesses and manufacturers to participate more deeply in the supply chain, ensuring stability and sustainability; and promote market diversification, making the most of free trade agreements (FTAs). This is a task that needs to be implemented decisively, urgently, and more effectively.

Previously, the 5th round of direct negotiations for the Reciprocal Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the United States was held from November 12-14 in Washington D.C., USA. During the three days of negotiations, the Vietnamese and US negotiating teams made significant progress on many issues such as services, digital trade, agriculture , technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS), and narrowed the gap on remaining issues.

Source: Tin Tuc News