Vietnam, US sign additional agricultural trade deals worth over $600 mln

Vietnam and the U.S. on Wednesday signed MoUs on importing animal feed materials from Ohio state with total value exceeding $600 million.

The agreements were inked during a Vietnam-Ohio business forum held on occasion of the working visit by a Ministry of Agriculture and Environment delegation led by Minister Do Duc Duy to Columbus, the capital and the largest city of Ohio.

Minister Duy emphasized that the forum, which saw the participation of 50 businesses from each side, aims to achieve a more balanced trade relationship. It also provides an opportunity to promote exports of Ohio’s key products that are of interest to the Vietnamese market, such as corn, soybeans, animal feed ingredients, and sawn timber.

At the event, many Vietnamese companies established connections with Ohio partners to promote the import of raw timber, fruit, and meat products.

“These agreements represent a major win for Ohio corn farmers,” said Patty Mann, Chair of the Ohio Corn Checkoff. “Vietnam continues to be a growing and reliable export market, and partnerships like this help ensure we can keep delivering high-quality, Ohio-grown products to the world.”

The timing of these new agreements is significant for Ohio’s farm economy, as producers face rising costs, lower commodity prices, and an urgent need to access new markets for soybeans, grains, meat, timber, and other agricultural products, she added.

Participating businesses and associations expressed a strong desire for both the Vietnamese and U.S. governments to continue facilitating conditions for promoting bilateral trade and integrating complementary agricultural supply chains. The shared goal is to bring real benefits to millions of farmers and consumers in both countries, contributing to global food security efforts.

Earlier, receiving the Vietnamese guests, Ohio Agriculture Secretary Brian Baldridge remarked that the U.S. and Vietnam in general, and Ohio and Vietnam in particular, complement each other rather than directly compete, especially in agricultural trade. Ohio sees Vietnam’s potential and the opportunity to boost bilateral trade, he said.

The two ministers agreed to propose to their respective governments the implementation of appropriate policies to avoid the imposition of tariffs that could disrupt supply chains.

In early April, President Donald Trump announced a 46% reciprocal tariff on imports from Vietnam, but just a few days later, he announced a 90-day postponement of the tariff.

"Not imposing the 46% reciprocal tariff will not only benefit Vietnamese producers and farmers, but also create jobs for many workers within the U.S. supply chain," Minister Duy emphasized.

While Vietnam exports many tropical products such as coffee, cashew nuts, pepper, fruit, and wooden furniture, the U.S. and the state of Ohio supply temperate goods like soybeans, beef, corn, raw timber, milk, and dairy products - items that Vietnam does not have a competitive advantage in producing on a large scale.

The officials agreed that this complementary relationship creates cooperation opportunities that bring tangible benefits to both economies, particularly consumers. This collaboration will diversify products, ensure quality and clear origin of agricultural products and wood in distribution channels.

During this working trip, Vietnamese businesses are expected to sign purchase contracts worth over $2 billion in the U.S. market, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

On Monday alone, in the state of Iowa, the two sides signed five MoUs worth a total of approximately $800 million. The deals mainly involve import of soybean meal, corn, wheat, and dried distillers grains (DDGS) over a three-year period.

In the coming days, the Vietnamese delegation will head to Washington, D.C., to continue discussions on trade and tariff matters.