07/24/2013
Washington, D.C. – Ambassador Michael Froman met today with Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang and Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. They reaffirmed the objective of concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) this year as a shared priority for both countries. All welcomed the significant progress being made during the round of TPP negotiations in Malaysia this week, and agreed to direct their negotiators to intensify engagement on a range of market access and rules issues with a view to resolving outstanding matters as quickly as possible.
“Vietnam has come a long way in addressing its own challenges to meet the high standards of the TPP, but we still have work to do together,” said Ambassador Froman. “I expect that the discussion over the coming weeks leading up to the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in October will be crucial in this process, and the United States is committed to continuing its close engagement with Vietnam to reach an ambitious, high-standard agreement with all our TPP partners.”
The ministers agreed that successful completion of a comprehensive TPP would strengthen economic ties between the two countries, promoting economic growth and development and supporting creation and retention of jobs.
