Businesses urged to seize the initiative for US trade Businesses in Vietnam must seize the huge opportunities created by regional and global integration to attract investment and boost trade with new markets around the globe – with an emphasis on tapping the US market. That’s the message from economic experts speaking on November 25 at a seminar in HCM city about prospects and challenges in Vietnam-US trade relations posed by the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement.  The TPP will be the most significant trade and commerce pact ever for Vietnam says Patrick T. Wall, Senior Commercial Officer from the US Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City, and there are plenty of opportunities for Vietnamese entrepreneurs he adds. Moreover, the US Government is implementing a number of legal measures to improve its laws to facilitate foreign businesses he said adding that there are right now tremendous opportunities for businesses to establish links with US associations to receive further support. Sharing the same viewpoint, Bui Hoang Yen, deputy director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency’s representative office in HCM City says the US market has great potential for Vietnamese exports, which to date have been inconsequential, accounting for just 0.98% of the nation’s exports. In the coming time, when the TPP comes into effect, it will bring with it ample opportunities for Vietnamese goods to rise to the forefront and for Vietnamese businesses to be a major exporter to the US. One additional item Yen underscored is that the commodities of the two nations are not competitive but rather trade between the two will be complimentary. The opportunity for success also presents the option for failure so Yen suggests that Vietnamese businesses should devise a proper strategy for overcoming obstacles such as export restructure and low added value products. The US is considered Vietnam’s leading economic partner. In the first nine months of this year, bilateral trade value between the two nations hit US$25.5 billion, up 21.3 % against the same period last year, according to Vietnam Customs.  VOV