Nikkei Asian Review

March 27, 2018

Vietnam leader calls for US to rejoin expanded TPP

Hanoi committed to fighting protectionism to help drive global growth

ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

HANOI -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc wants to expand a renewed version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact to include the U.S. and other countries to drive global economic growth and fight the rising tide of protectionism.

It is "in the interest of all the member economies" for the U.S. to join in this agreement, Phuc said Monday in an interview with Nikkei and the Financial Times here. That would be a great impetus for growth "in this region and the world," he said.

Despite having originally led the TPP negotiations in the Obama administration, the U.S. pulled out of the framework under President Donald Trump. The 11 remaining members signed a revised version called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on March 8 -- an achievement in no small part made possible by Hanoi working with Tokyo, according to Phuc.

Even "without the U.S., the CPTPP will still be going forward and will still bring benefits to all member economies," the prime minister said. But hope is growing in Vietnam that Washington could rejoin the trade pact in light of Trump's comments in late January that he could "consider negotiating" with remaining TPP members. The U.S. is the Southeast Asian nation's top export market.

Vietnam is a party to 16 free trade agreements when those still in negotiation are included, Phuc said. He noted that these deals have contributed to the country's steady economic growth -- a warning against the rise of protectionism and the growing risk of a trade war.

 Phuc also touched on efforts to reform Vietnamese state-owned enterprises, which he considers a top priority for continued growth. The goal is for these companies "to meet the international standards of corporate governance by 2030," he said.

The prime minister cited selling shares in initial public offerings and to foreign partners as part of the efforts.

Vietnam logged Southeast Asia's fastest gross domestic product growth last year at 6.81%. The rate will likely top 7% in 2018, said Phuc, who cited "new growth momentums" in the manufacturing and service sectors and consumer spending.

He said that by 2020, the country aims to have over 1 million private enterprises and increase the private sector's contribution to GDP to 50% from the current 43%.