HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam’s trade ministry said a second round of trade negotiations with the United States has started in Washington, with the Southeast Asian country hoping to avoid a threatened 46% tariff rate.
The second round of formal talks for a bilateral trade deal began on Monday and will run until May 22, the ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday. The first round of talks was held earlier this month.
“The two countries had discussions on the overall approach to resolving fundamental issues of mutual concern and accelerating the negotiation process,” the ministry statement said.
“Vietnam and the U.S. are also speaking about current policies as a basis for proceeding to next steps.”
Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien, who is in Washington for the talks, also held talks on nuclear technology with U.S. power company Westinghouse.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by John Mair)
