Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 06/2012

US-Vietnam: New Strategic Partners Begin Tough Trade Talks

Raymond Burghardt

February 2010

East-West Center

Abstract

Vietnamese and Americans joined together in Hanoi last December for a happy celebration, commemorating the tenth anniversary of the entrance into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement signed in December, 2001. The gathering of current and former trade negotiators, diplomats, and business leaders exchanged witty anecdotes about who had been the toughest negotiator. However, the main focus for both American and Vietnamese participants was on the positive prospects for future US-Vietnam relations across the spectrum of trade and strategic common interests.