United States–Vietnam trade relations

U.S. - Vietnam Trade Relations refer to the bilateral trade relationship between the United States of America (U.S.) and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) from 1990s to 2012. After more than two decades of no economic relationship since the end of the Vietnam War, the two governments reestablished economic relationship during the 1990s. The bilateral trade between the U.S. and Vietnam grew slowly afterwards, and it has developed rapidly after the signing of the U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001. Total bilateral trade turnover has increased 1200% from $1.5 billion in 2001 to over $20 billion in 2011. The bilateral trade relations further developed after the U.S. granted Vietnam permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status as part of Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007. The U.S. and Vietnam also came to a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2007. Vietnam was recently the United States' 26th largest goods imports partner with $17.5 billion in 2011, and was the 45th largest goods export market with $3.7 billion in 2010. Vietnam with six other partners are now in the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations with the U.S. The growth in bilateral trade has also been accompanied by issues and problems, e.g. anti-dumping cases, worker’s rights, non-market economy, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and Vietnam’s exchange rate policy.

After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the U.S. and Vietnam maintained no economic relation in more than two decades. Washington extended President Richard Nixon’s 1964 trade embargo to all of Vietnam and all bilateral trade activities were prohibited. The Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations’ joint efforts to resolve the remains of U.S. servicemen missing in action (MIA) had set the foundation for the normalization of bilateral trade relations between the two nations during the Clinton Administration. On February 3, 1994, President Bill Clinton ordered the lifting of the U.S. trade embargo on Vietnam. Three years later, in 1997, Pete Peterson was appointed as the first U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam since 1975. The two governments signed the first bilateral trade agreement (BTA) on July 13, 2000.

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