Viet Nam, US trade to reach $33.6b   A worker at VIFOCO Import-Export Company in northern Bac Giang Province packages cucumber for export to Russia, the US and India. - VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet HA NOI (VNS) - Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and the United States will probably reach US$33.6 billion in 2014; of this figure, $28.1 billion will come from Vietnamese exports. The Viet Nam Economic Times quoted the American Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam's forecast as stating that exports of Viet Nam's textiles and apparel to the United States, which currently account for one-third of Vietnamese total exports to the market, will top $9.7 billion by the year-end. According to the General Department of Customs, Viet Nam had already exported over $8.49 billion worth of goods to the United States in the first four months of this year, up 27.5 per cent year-on-year. During the reviewed period, textiles and garments took the lead in terms of turnover, with $2.94 billion, making up 30 per cent of total exports or increasing 18 per cent against the same period last year. Footwear was second, with $950 million (up 25.5 per cent), and wood and wooden goods ranked third, with $677.6 million (up 26 per cent). Among other export items recording significant turnover growth were mobile phones and their components, seafood, machines and equipment. Some agricultural goods also recorded significant turnover growth, such as cashew nuts, pepper , fruits and vegetables. Trade experts attributed this good result to the great efforts of Vietnamese firms in ensuring their export growth rates in the context of having to cope with harsher competition from rival countries and stricter US trade barriers. At present, Viet Nam ranks third among ASEAN countries exporting goods to the United States, close behind Malaysia and Thailand. The country is set to be an export leader among Southeast Asian nations to the United States by 2015. - VNS