US garment, textile and footwear firms are seeking investment opportunities in Vietnam after their country withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). According to the senior vice president of American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), Nate Herman, Vietnam’s strengths in quality, price and delivery commitments attracts US retailers to the country.
Herman also said that Vietnam surpassed rivals in export growth to the United States despite receiving no preferential trade pacts. Vietnam’s exports to the United States in these sectors are likely to increase in future, even without TPP, a Vietnamese news agency quoted Herman as saying. He also pointed out that the imports of Vietnam’s garment-textile and footwear to his country grew by 8.74% and 11.83% respectively over the past 12 months and Vietnam was the second biggest exporter to the US market, after China.
Vietnam exported over $30.16 billion worth of goods to the United States in the first eight months of 2017, making up 1.99 % of the total US import turnover. During the same period, the country paid over $2.2 billion in taxes, ranking second among 15 countries paying the highest import taxes to the United States.
AAFA and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam) held a series of activities in Ho Chi Minh City, including a workshop on product safety and compliance issues, in late October this year.
Earlier, the National Cotton Council of America (CCI) coordinated with the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association to organize the Cotton Day 2017 and granted investment licenses to 12 businesses operating in Vietnam and using the US cotton. But, some experts are also feeling that Vietnam’s exports to the United States may face difficulties in future due to tough US regulations on product safety to reduce trade deficit.
