The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have launched a $3.25 million effort to facilitate digital trade, which comes as part of the new Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced during President Joe Biden’s visit to Vietnam last month.

“During his recent visit, President Biden emphasized the US’s commitment to help Vietnam compete in a digital global economy,” said Ms. Aler Grubbs, USAID’s Mission Director for Vietnam. “We are pleased to sign an MoU with MoIT. This new digital trade activity led by USAID and MoIT is our first to be launched under our two countries’ newly-upgraded partnership and will go a long way towards unleashing the potential of digital trade to form a key driver of the country’s continued growth.”

USAID’s three-year activity, called Vietnam Digital Trade, supports MoIT’s implementation of policy frameworks that facilitate digital trade, in consultation with the private sector. Regulations that are responsive to private sector needs will remove trade bottlenecks and increase regulatory transparency, helping shape an e-commerce sector where enterprises of all sizes can benefit.

In addition, the MoU encourages small and medium-sized enterprise (SOE) participation in digital trade by introducing new business models and other best practices, such as traceability of goods, and facilitates cross-border connections between enterprises via MoIT’s digital trade promotion platform, called DECOBIZ.

The project supports business associations such as the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Vietnam E-commerce Association to promote digital trade around the country. It works through MoIT and business associations to target female-owned enterprises and minority communities in support of inclusive economic growth.

USAID’s Vietnam Digital Trade activity advances the US Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, under which Vietnam and the US partner to harness innovation and pursue high-standard rules of the road in the digital economy to drive continued growth. This activity builds on the US’s successful partnership with Vietnam over the past two decades, facilitating increased trade and improving the business-enabling environment.