Vietnam expects to sign a "reciprocal trade agreement" with the United States soon, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said on Wednesday, as a new round of negotiations gets underway in Washington DC.
"Only trust can lead to cooperation, and only cooperation can lead to prosperity ... and Vietnam always seeks to boost cooperation with the United States," Son said at a U.S.-Vietnam business summit in Hanoi.
In October the two countries agreed to finalise a trade deal within weeks that would keep tariffs on imports of Vietnamese goods to the United States at 20%, but would exempt certain unspecified products.
Son at the summit called on U.S. businesses to support a visit to the United States by Vietnamese leader To Lam, and also to encourage Washington to recognize Vietnam as a market economy and lift its restrictions on the export of high-tech products.
Negotiators from Vietnam, led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, are in Washington for a new round of trade deal negotiations scheduled for November 12-14, the ministry said on Tuesday night.