09/03/2012
Hanoi, Vietnam - United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk concluded successful meetings today with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh and other senior Vietnamese officials, discussing the United States' bilateral trade and investment relationship with Vietnam and issues related to the Trans-Pacific Partnership - a high-standard regional trade agreement currently under negotiation by the United States, Vietnam, and seven other Asia-Pacific nations - as well as objectives in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Ambassador Kirk began his stop in Hanoi on Sunday by meeting with Minister of Industry and Trade Va Huy Hoang and also met with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat.
"The bilateral relationship between the United States and Vietnam has grown rapidly into a robust and mutually beneficial one. We have the opportunity to further this relationship significantly by quickly resolving concerns such as the further opening of Vietnam's market to U.S. beef and other bilateral issues, and more broadly by working together to rapidly conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership," said Ambassador Kirk. "Now is the time to make the decisions necessary to bring the TPP to fruition as a high-standard, 21st-century agreement that will benefit all partners. I am pleased that Vietnam shares our eagerness to make progress at this month's round of talks."
Ambassador Kirk also communicated the United States' commitment to achieving key objectives at this week's meeting of APEC ministers and leaders in Vladivostok, Russia, most notably an agreed list of environmental goods and services targeted for tariff cuts in the region.
The fourteenth round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations will take place in Leesburg, Virginia, from September 6-15.
