Ten ASEAN countries and three partners of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea have agreed to strengthen financial cooperation in the region to cope with negative impacts from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan and Marc Mealy, Senior Vice President for Policy at the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), co-chaired a seminar connecting agricultural enterprises of Vietnam and the US on May 13 in Washington D.C.

This famous line hits home in the current play as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine set open a can of worms for agriculture producers and consumers worldwide. Supply disruptions are coming at a crucial time when the world is in the midst of months-long high energy and input cost environment, which are playing into the inflationary pressures and forcing governments to take policy actions such as export curbs.

Việt Nam has ample opportunities to boost exports of wooden products and furniture to the EU market in the post pandemic period, experts say. Speaking at a seminar organised on Tuesday by the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC), its deputy director Nguyễn Tuấn said the EU was among the top 15 importers of wooden furniture, handicrafts and interior and exterior decoration products from Việt Nam

Cooperation activities between Việt Nam and the US continue to develop strongly in all fields, particularly in investment and finance, with businesses of the two countries playing a very important role, said Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính.

The report was published by the Science and Technics Publishing House in coordination with the compiling council of the annual report on foreign investment in Vietnam.

Foreign investment is the silver lining in Việt Nam's economic picture amid the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national and global economy, said President of the Việt Nam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE).

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) announced the US is initiating an investigation against defensive tax evasion on wooden cabinets imported from Việt Nam. The Viet Nam Timber and Forest Products Association said the US Department of Commerce (DoC) had notified Vietnamese authorities of an application to investigate suspicions of trade remedy tax evasion on wooden cabinets imported from Việt Nam and Malaysia.

India wants the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to play its role in containing global inflation, which is impacting most of the economies of the member countries.

Cambodia and Vietnam have agreed to ensure the sustainability of the value chain to meet trade demands in accordance with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which came into force in July 2020.