Samsung Electronics America supports upgrade to 'market economy status' for Vietnam

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., under South Korean chaebol Samsung, has told the U.S. Department of Commerce that it supports Vietnam's bid to be recognized as a market economy.

As a significant foreign-headquartered investor in Vietnam’s growth over the past 15 years, Samsung can attest that “Vietnam has not discriminated against our company in comparison to domestic investors”, referring to one of the factors the U.S. Department of Commerce will consider.

“To the contrary, Vietnam has welcomed Samsung’s investment in the country, to the extent that our company has become one of Vietnam’s largest employers,” according to Samsung Electronics America.

Increasing investment by Samsung and other companies has helped to spur the growth of Vietnam’s private sector and the private sector’s decision-making process in the Vietnamese economy as a whole, the electronics firm added.

Operating in parallel with its private-sector growth, Vietnam has increased its diplomatic ties with the United States and allies such as South Korea and Japan. “Such diplomatic efforts provide ballast to companies from those countries, like Samsung, which invest in Vietnam,” according to the statement.

As a result of those developments, Vietnam has increasingly emerged as a stable, secure supply chain partner, to the ultimate benefit of the U.S. economy. To illustrate, Vietnam now is one of Samsung’s key suppliers to U.S. consumers, alongside products made in the United States, South Korea, and Mexico, according to Samsung.

On the same page, the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam) and the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) have been supporting Vietnam's efforts to be designated as a market economy by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The U.S. Department of Commerce considers various factors in designating a market economy status: (i) the extent to which the currency of the foreign country is convertible into the currency of other countries; (ii) the extent to which wage rates in the foreign country are determined by free bargaining between labor and management; (iii) the extent to which joint ventures or other investments by firms of other foreign countries are permitted in the foreign country; (iv) the extent of government ownership or control of the means of production; (v) the extent of government control over the allocation of resources and over the price and output decisions of enterprises; and (vi) other factors the administering authority considers appropriate.

Beside Vietnam, other non-market economies include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The U.S. Department of Commerce is set to issue a final decision on its changed circumstances review of Vietnam’s non-market economy status on July 26, or 270 days after initiating the review.