The United States sees Vietnam as a key partner for the former’s plan to build more resilient supply chains, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday.

She emphasized Vietnam’s important role in the United States’ friendshoring drive. Friendshoring means the act of manufacturing and sourcing from friendship countries.

Secretary Yellen, who made an official visit to Vietnam from Tuesday to Friday, said that the U.S. is boosting trade with trusted countries, including Vietnam, to diversify supply chains to back the global economic recovery.

The purpose of the United States friendshoring initiative is minimizing vulnerability to economic shocks related to supply chains, mainly in the semiconductor field, said the U.S. official.

“Over the past decade, Vietnam has emerged as a critical node in the global semiconductor supply chain,” Yellen affirmed.

She listed several U.S. companies active in the hi-tech sector in Vietnam, including Arizona-based Amkor, which is planning to build a massive plant for manufacturing, assembling and testing semiconductors in northern Bac Ninh Province, and Onsemi, which is producing semiconductor chips for cars in Dong Nai Province.

Besides, Intel has its largest assembly and testing facility in the world at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City.

She also underscored that the friendshoring drive is not meat for ‘an exclusive club of countries.’ 

“It is open and inclusive of advanced economies, emerging markets and developing countries,” she said.

Speaking at the press briefing, Yellen underlined that Vietnam has made great strides in economic growth over the past 10 years. Photo: Duy Linh / Tuoi Tre

Yellen also highlighted the importance of climate chance response, saying that the United States has issued some decisions to ramp up the use of clean energy and reduce impacts on climate.

Washington is proactively launching multiple initiatives to help other countries address the worsening climate crisis, including U.S. support for Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership.

Before attending the press conference, U.S. Secretary of Treasury Yellen met with some representatives from 10 leading American firms which are doing business in Vietnam to learn about their challengers and opportunities.

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen (in blue) meets with some representatives from American firms in Vietnam. Photo: Duy Linh / Tuoi Tre

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