Vietnamese food exports to United States to rise 11% in 2017

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the US is a potential export market of Vietnam with export turnover increasing over recent years. However, Vietnam’s export earnings to the US market currently account for only 2 percent of the US’s total import turnover.
Experts said that the US market’s attraction is posing fiercer competition to Vietnamese exporters in addition to the country’s strict regulations on food safety set out by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
Dao Tran Nhan, Vietnamese Minister Counselor in the US, said that the only way to export to the US is that Vietnamese enterprises need to firmly and properly meet the regulations of the US Government.

Vietnam’s export turnover to the United States hit 34.7 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2017.

In fact, Nhan said, FSMA Law is not new as it has been applied since 2011. However, until now, many Vietnamese enterprises have not been fully aware about the law. Under the FSMA Law, businesses are required to make new registration and re-registration of their business facilities with the FDA to obtain a valid business code prior to shipment to the United States.
As for new registration, firms can make online at any time of the year. Meanwhile, the registrations are scheduled to be made after two years and in even years with fixed extension periods from October 1 to December 31. If firms have many warehouses and workshops they should register separately to be granted code for each place.
Nhan said that Vietnam's Trade Office in the United States will continue updating information about the FSMA as well as the US’s economic and trade policy on its portal, while providing legal assistance and export-procedure consultancy, making it easy for Vietnamese exporters to understand more about this market.
It has also assisted businesses of the nations in seeking cooperation opportunities in business, investment and export-import, while working with ministries and sectors to resolve trade disputes concerning Vietnam.
Trade ties between Vietnam and the US have been growing as bilateral relations have witnessed fruitful development in recent years. 
The US has remained the largest importer of Vietnamese products, with Vietnam’s export turnover to the market hitting 38.45 billion USD last year, and 34.7 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2017.
Vietnam currently ranks 16th among the US’ leading trade partners. Bilateral trade grows 20 percent annually and Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus with the US in the past 10 years.