HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam expects to sign pacts with the United States this week after its trade minister meets U.S. trade and energy officials, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.
The step comes after weeks of conciliatory messages Vietnam has sent Washington in an effort to avert tariffs by the Trump administration the Southeast Asian nation may face because of its large trade surplus with the United States.
The March 5 document from the trade ministry features the schedule of Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien’s trip to the United States this week.
It also listed energy companies and government departments, from customs to tax, asked to send accompanying representatives.
Last week the government said on its portal Dien, who is also in charge of energy and industry policy, would travel to the United States on Thursday to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
But it gave no details of possible deals or topics to be discussed.
Officials have publicly indicated Vietnam’s intention to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas for its fledgling industry and to possibly revise duties on several imports, from ethanol and LNG to agriculture products.
Trading firm PetroVietnam Gas, power generator PetroVietnam Power and power distributor EVN are among the state-controlled gas and energy companies asked to send delegates on Dien’s U.S. trip, the ministry document shows.
The event is part of regular meetings between U.S. and Vietnamese trade officials under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement signed in 2007.
Dien is set to first meet Greer on Thursday, before working with officials of the U.S. energy department and witnessing the signing of “a number of agreements” the following day, the document showed.
Then he will meet officials of the commerce department and industry groups with “interests in Vietnam”, it added, but did not say if the meetings were listed according to times in the United States or Vietnam, which could affect the days.
(Reporting by Emily Chow, Francesco Guarascio and Khanh Vu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
