US, Vietnam build on blossoming trade relations

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.vov.org.vn/2005_01_19/english/kinhte1.htm

Vietnam-US trade normalisation was the principal economic step that not only opened up business opportunities for both nations but also, despite some remaining friction, consummated postwar reconciliation between the two countries, said a former official of the US Trade Representative office.

Visiting Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, who was on the US negotiation team that led to the signing and ratification of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) four years ago, spoke at a meeting on Tuesday that gathered members of the local business community, diplomats and students in Hanoi. The meeting was hosted by Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Ms Barshefsky, a senior international partner with the Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP company, said that within the past four years the BTA has accelerated Vietnam's economic reforms, set a foundation for its bid for WTO membership and turned the US into Vietnam's largest export market. snip

Vietnam exports to the US have risen by US$4.2 billion, from US$800 million to US$5 billion in just four years, particularly agricultural products such as fruit, cashew nuts and coffee, and light manufactured products as furniture and garments.

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