Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday [December 22] held a phone talk with US President Donald Trump over the bilateral relations, including recent investigation on Vietnam initiated by the US Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 regarding currency undervaluation and wood products.

Prime Minister Phuc during the talks. Photo: Quang Hieu.

The US Treasury Department on December 16 labeled Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators, along with adding three new names, including Taiwan, Thailand and India in a watch list of countries and territories it suspects of deliberately devaluing their currencies against the dollar.

Others on the list include China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia.

Under its semi-annual currency manipulation report, the Treasury stated Vietnam had acted to gain “unfair competitive advantage in international trade as well.”

In the phone talk with Mr. Trump, the Vietnam PM said Vietnam is a developing country with limited economic capability. “The main objective in Vietnam’s monetary policy management is to control the inflation and stabilize macro-economic conditions, not for unfair gains in global trade,” Mr. Phuc stated.

“Vietnamese government agencies will continue to cooperate with the US counterparts to resolve issues of shared concern between the two countries, aiming to ensure a stabilized, balanced and sustainable trade relations for mutual benefits,” informed the Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement.

Both leaders agreed that the Vietnam-US relations have been growing strongly in all spheres after 25 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and especially in recent years, while expressing strong belief that a stable bilateral relation will bring benefits to people of the two countries, with cooperation in trade and investment as one of the key pillars.

A strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam with growing influence in the region is the desire of the Vietnamese people and in line with US interests.

On this occasion, Mr. Phuc congratulated the US President on the successful development of two Covid-19 vaccines in a record time.

Mr. Trump added he loves Vietnam and its people, saying he looks forward to visiting the country again in a coming time.