This month we are celebrating the growth in our bilateral economic relationship and the benefits it brings to both Vietnamese and U.S. citizens. Since the lifting of the U.S. trade embargo in 1994, bilateral trade has grown from just $451 million to nearly $35 billion last year, and the United States has become the single largest importer of Vietnamese products worldwide. This trade is good for both of our countries, and brings our two nations closer together.
In April, we highlight the good work U.S. companies are doing in Vietnam through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. When U.S. companies come to Vietnam, they give back to the community by investing in the development and welfare of the Vietnamese people. American companies are doing CSR work in areas that reflect the values of the American people – promoting access to education; good governance; raising living standards; empowering women; combating disease and illiteracy; environmental stewardship; and contributions to science and technology, innovation and competitiveness. The list goes on.
This month the U.S. Embassy Facebook page will be highlighting examples of the CSR work being done by American companies in Vietnam.
If you’d like to learn more about the U.S.-Vietnam economic relationship, you might be interested in reading this speech given by Charlene Barshefsky when she visited Vietnam this March. Ambassador Barshefsky was the former United States Trade Representative and her speech in Hanoi provides a good overview of how our bilateral economic relationship has evolved. Please click here for her remarks.
Stay tuned for more examples of how rapidly our economic relationship is growing and deepening, and also for examples of how U.S. companies are taking the lead in Corporate Social Responsibility in Vietnam.
