By Francesco Guarascio
HANOI (Reuters) – Top U.S. tech, defence and energy companies including Boeing and Apple will join a large business mission to Vietnam next week, a list of participants seen by Reuters shows, in a possible sign of confidence as the Southeast Asian country seeks to avoid U.S. trade tariffs.
The annual mission organised by the US-ASEAN Business Council, an advocacy group, takes place this year as Vietnam is reviewing its duties on U.S. goods, including on liquefied natural gas, agriculture and high-tech products, while U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose more tariffs on trading partners.
Executives from more than 60 U.S. large companies will travel to Vietnam next week, according to the organisers.
Among them are companies already with large operations in the country, including Apple, Intel, Coca-Cola and Nike, and also corporations that may seek to expand into Vietnam’s booming economy, including Boeing, Amazon and Bell Textron, according to the list seen by Reuters.
Other participants will be Excelerate Energy, a provider of floating terminals for liquefied natural gas, and GE Vernova, which have both signed provisional deals with Vietnamese companies for the supply of gas equipment, according to a statement on Friday by PetroVietnam Power, a state-controlled energy firm.
Vietnamese officials have repeatedly said they want to boost imports of LNG products and services from the United States as a way of reducing the country’s trade surplus with Washington, which totalled more than $123 billion in 2024.
The U.S. companies will meet top Vietnamese officials, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party To Lam, according to an internal agenda seen by Reuters.
U.S. companies in Vietnam have voiced concerns about their operations in Vietnam, a key manufacturing base for multinational companies, if Trump imposes tariffs on the country.
Exxon Mobil, which controls Vietnam’s largest although so far untapped gas field, is also joining the mission, the list shows.
Boeing, which has agreements with two Vietnam airlines for the sale of up to 250 planes, is also attending, as it did in past years, according to the list.
Boeing and Bell Textron are among companies that have been in talks for years with Vietnam for the possible sale of helicopters and other military equipment.
Big U.S. financial firms are also on the list, including JPMorgan, Visa, Mastercard and Warburg Pincus.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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