On April 2, at the forum "Ho Chi Minh City - Oregon State (USA) Economic Cooperation 2026", Ms. Cao Thi Phi Van - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Trade and Investment Promotion Center (ITPC), said that the United States is currently Vietnam's largest export market. Regarding investment, the United States has 1,539 valid projects with a total capital of more than 12.5 billion USD. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, US investors are implementing 915 projects, with a total capital of 7.6 billion USD, ranking 7th out of 136 countries and territories.
According to Ms. Van, Ho Chi Minh City, with its role as the economic locomotive of the country, has many similarities and complementarities with Oregon - a locality with strengths in technology, logistics infrastructure and international trade capacity. On that basis, ITPC orients 3 key cooperation groups including: strengthening substantive connection between the business community of the two sides; expanding logistics, seaport and supply chain cooperation; promoting investment in a sustainable, effective and in-depth direction.
From a diplomatic and trade perspective, Mr. Gregory Harris - Head of Trade Department, US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, assessed Vietnam as a dynamic economy with great growth potential, in which Ho Chi Minh City belongs to the group of localities with high growth rates in ASEAN. In the context of bilateral trade continuing to expand, the US expects Oregon state businesses - an economy heavily dependent on trade - to increase their presence in Vietnam with international standard products and services.
Representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, Ms. To Ngoc Lan, said that the city is orienting logistics development to become a key sector. Currently, import and export activities have been one of the growth pillars, and in the coming time, logistics will continue to play the main driving force. Meanwhile, Oregon has a lot of experience in developing modern logistics, especially green logistics and digital logistics - areas Ho Chi Minh City is aiming for. This cooperation not only improves the capacity of the logistics system but also supports expanding the export market to the United States, helping businesses strengthen connectivity and improve competitiveness.
From a business perspective, Mr. Luong Quang Thi - Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Logistics and Seaport Association, emphasized the advantage of Ho Chi Minh City's logistics costs being 25-30% lower than Singapore. He proposed breakthrough cooperation pillars such as establishing a direct sea route Portland - Cai Mep - Thi Vai; building the "Oregon - Ho Chi Minh City Cold Corridor" (Farm-to-Shelf model) for high-quality agricultural products; and at the same time, promoting the application of AI technology and green logistics to aim for a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
The business community expects the two sides to soon move towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation, thereby making Ho Chi Minh City a gateway for strategic distribution of Oregon's goods into the ASEAN market with a scale of more than 650 million people.
