PARTNER IN THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP TRADE AGREEMENT
Vietnam became an official negotiating partner in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in 2010.
Vietnam is the third most-populous country in Southeast Asia and it is undergoing a rapid change from being centrally-planned economy to a market-driven one.
State-owned enterprises now account for only about 40% of GDP and Vietnam has been a member of the World Trade Organisation since 2007. Its economy is rapidly re-orienting towards industry and exports. In 2000, agriculture accounted for 25% of GDP and industry for 36%. By 2011, those ratios were 22% and 40%, respectively. Despite facing turbulence from the global economic slowdown and domestic inflation, Vietnamese exports rose by an impressive 33% year-on-year in 2011.