Washington (VNA) - The United States and Viet Nam share the goal of continuing to strengthen the trade and investment relationship between the two countries, said an official from the US Trade Representative (USTR).
Stephen J. Norton, Assistant Press Secretary of the USTR, was speaking with a VNA correspondent of the first Ministerial-level meeting of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council convened in Washington DC on December 17.
The Head of the Vietnamese TIFA delegation was Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office, and the US TIFA delegation was led by Susan C. Schwab, United States Trade Representative.
The meeting focused on Viet Nam ’s implementation of its World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments as well as measures to further deepen trade and investment relations between the United States and Viet Nam .
According to Norton, the meeting provided for an extremely productive dialogue on the full range of priority issues.
“The United States and Viet Nam will continue to work together closely on the range of issues discussed during this meeting,” he said. “Both sides agreed on a regular exchange of information under the TIFA to facilitate this closer cooperation. The US will support Viet Nam ’s ongoing efforts to implement its WTO commitments and advance its economic reform agenda.”
According to the official, in the area of agricultural trade, the two sides will continue their efforts to facilitate market access for key products such as poultry and beef for the US and tropical fruits for Viet Nam .
In services, the US and Viet Nam discussed coordination to ensure a smooth transition as Viet Nam liberalises its service sectors in line with its WTO commitments.
The US will continue to support Viet Nam ’s efforts to fully implement its commitments to provide strong protection for intellectual property rights for Vietnamese and foreign firms.
The two sides also agreed to cooperate on ways to enhance U.S. capacity building assistance to Viet Nam for trade-related reforms and to seek greater participation from the respective private sectors in the trade dialogue.
The US and Viet Nam agreed to meet quarterly under the TIFA to assess progress on joint work already underway, discuss ways to address new issues as they arise, and to consider new initiatives.-Enditem
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