A senior US official has affirmed economic and trade relations between Hanoi and Washington will continue to grow irrespective of the upcoming result of the 2024 election.

Arriving in Vietnam late last month, Arun Venkataraman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, said the primary agenda of his trip was to enhance the economic relationship and expand trade and investment activities between the U.S. and Vietnam.

As he discussed current affairs in an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, the topic of the U.S. presidential election, which begins on Tuesday, was brought up specifically on how Vietnamese businesses should prepare for the result, especially in key export sectors like textiles, furniture, and seafood, as there may be potential policy shifts after the vote.

Venkataraman stated that he did not have sector-specific advice, but emphasized that despite the potential U.S. leadership change, the economic relationship between Hanoi and Washington will continue to thrive.

Both countries aim to expand trade and investment relations for their mutual interest in sustainable development.

“I would say looking ahead, we continue to focus on the win-win nature of this relationship, the benefits to each economy of this bilateral partnership are too great to ignore,” he stated.

“Both Vietnam and the U.S. want to strengthen their supply chains, meaning we need our companies to work closer together and be better partners for those supply chains.”

He also highlighted how both nations want to counter common threats, including cybersecurity.

“Working together is the best way to counter those threats, not for the U.S., not for Vietnam, but for both of us,” Venkataraman said.

The U.S. is currently Vietnam's largest export market, and Hanoi is the 9th-largest trading partner for Washington.

“We are now trading 300 times more than we did 30 years ago,” he stated.

The official commented that such performance is "unprecedented" and reflects the continuous efforts of both governments in harnessing common interests for the prosperity of both nations and peoples.

Noting that the bilateral economic relationship cannot be successful without the active participation of businesses from both countries, Venkataraman expressed his desire to promote cooperation between American and Vietnamese businesses, considering it a key factor for boosting the two nations’ all-round relations.

With world-leading technologies and solutions, the U.S. private sector is looking forward to contributing to the development of the Vietnamese economy, Venkataraman asserted.

“We continue to support Vietnamese companies coming to the U.S. and taking advantage of the opportunity to grow dynamically in the American market," he said.

Venkataraman also stressed that the U.S. would continue to support businesses in selling technology to Vietnam, help the Southeast Asian country develop its economy, improve its people's lives, and achieve greater prosperity.

“In the U.S., we don't tell our businesses who to work with. Our businesses decide that for themselves and if we work together with Vietnam and do things right, our businesses will respond,” he stated.

During his trip, which focused on two main areas, namely digital policy and clean energy, Venkataraman met with Vietnamese government officials, private sector leaders, and U.S.-invested companies in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The meetings centered on policies related to data management, cybersecurity, and digital infrastructure, along with how the U.S. can support Vietnam in its transition to a cleaner energy future.

The trip was scheduled simultaneously as the two countries celebrate one year of a comprehensive strategic partnership and look forward to celebrating 30 years of normalization of their bilateral relations in 2025.

Vietnam and the U.S. normalized their diplomatic relations in July 1995 and entered a comprehensive partnership in July 2013.

A decade later, the two countries lifted their ties directly to a comprehensive strategic partnership on September 10, 2023, skipping the strategic partnership level, during U.S. President Joe Biden’s official visit to Vietnam.

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