Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HA NOI — The Viet Nam Trade Centre in New York opened on Tuesday in a bid to provide Vietnamese businesses with a venue to showcase their products in the US market.

The centre, which includes a showroom and offices, takes up more than 300sq.m of a building in lower Manhattan, according to the Ministry of Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade).

Vietrade said businesses can apply to have the centre’s staff showcase their samples, catalogues and notices.

These businesses will be required to follow tax and management regulations and provide a written introduction from their municipal or provincial trade departments.

These businesses should also have feasible plans to export their products to the US and pledge to pay all the centre’s duties, Vietrade said.

Businesses that wish to hire a place in the showroom to showcase their products themselves or set up their own representative offices at the centre will also be required to provide US$5,000 as a deposit. Only businesses which have had an export and import registration for at least three years will be eligible.

Businesses which export goods which the Vietnamese Government encourages to the US market will receive priority for a berth in the centre.

The Ministry of Trade will be in charge of promoting the centre to lure customers.

Businesses which wish to join the centre should register with Vietrade before April 15. — VNS