US businesses have voiced their support for
negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the US
and Vietnam and other partners.
Vietnam
is an increasingly important trade partner for the US, and TPP will bring
economic interests to businesses of the US, Vietnam, and other members, said
Calman Cohen, representative of the US Business Coalition.
The US
Business Coalition has supported Vietnam in TPP negotiations, Cohen told
Vietnamese ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong during a dialogue on April 11
(Washington time).
The
forum brought together representatives of 50 businesses and members of the US
Business Coalition, including leading US groups.
Cuong
confirmed Vietnam’s strong resolve to speed up TPP negotiations, saying the
agreement is of great importance to member countries, including Vietnam and the
US, in the context of the rapid trade liberalisation in a dynamically developing
Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world.
The US
is one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners and bilateral economic ties have
grown and flourished in recent times, said the ambassador.
He
called on US businesses to further investment and trade in the Southeast Asian
nation.
He
proposed that the businesses support the US in granting the Generalised System
of Preferences (GSP) to Vietnam and recognising the country’s market economy
status. He said the move will help expand bilateral cooperation and accelerate
TPP negotiations.
The
diplomat also called on the US Business Coalition to lobby US Congress and
administration to care about Vietnam’s interests in negotiations, especially
for its garments and footwear imported into the US.
According
to Cuong, the offer put forward by the US is not persuasive, as most Vietnamese
garments are not included in the list of items to enjoy immediate tax cuts.
Vietnam
and several other negotiating members have rejected the offer and asked the US
to make a more attractive one. He reiterated Vietnam’s stance of conducting
negotiations for the whole package instead of separate items.
Several
participating businesses said they will continue to work on these issues with
Congress and administration, and confirmed their strong support for tariff cuts
in the US and other countries as well.
Negotiating
parties to TPP are Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand,
Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam.
VOV
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