Oregon lawmakers journey to Vietnam, strengthen commerce ties with port-to-port deal

SALEM, Ore. (KATU) — Four Oregon lawmakers spent every week in Vietnam aiming to strengthen the financial hyperlinks between the state and the nation.

The group met with nationwide and native leaders within the South Asian nation, touring industrial hubs and signing a port-to-port settlement geared toward deepening commerce throughout the Pacific.

“As coastal gateways to larger regional economies, Oregon and Vietnam share more than just the same ocean–we have the same DNA,” stated Representative Daniel Nguyen (D-SW Portland & Lake Oswego), Chair of the House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business, and Trade.

“Our abundant natural resources, diverse economies, innovative workforces, and growing high-tech industries speak for themselves, but we’re here to amplify them.”

According to Business Oregon, Vietnam accounts for about 4% of Oregon’s exports in a typical three-year common.

A big share of the state’s exports is tied to the semiconductor business.

The commerce mission included legislators on each side.

The journey throughout the Pacific stemmed from a newly fashioned Oregon Legislative Trade Caucus, which was introduced in early July.

Rep. Nguyen and Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) are co-chairing the caucus. Rep. Shannon Isadore (D-Portland) and Rep. Dwayne Yunker (R-Grants Pass) are additionally within the caucus.

According to Nguyen, the caucus is supposed to unite lawmakers throughout occasion strains to strengthen Oregon’s place within the world market.

“I have seen firsthand the opportunities and challenges facing Oregon businesses in the international marketplace,” Nguyen stated when the caucus launched in July. “This caucus will serve as a forum for legislators to collaborate on pragmatic solutions that expand market access, reduce barriers, and promote Oregon’s exporters, importers, and innovators”.

Rep. Boshart Davis stated the journey is a proactive response to financial headwinds and famous that lawmakers can take a number of steps to advocate for truthful and efficient commerce practices that profit companies of all sizes.

“This mission is a launching point for greater cooperation, creating opportunities that help Oregon workers and employers thrive in an increasingly global economy,” stated Boshart Davis forward of the journey.

What did they do on the journey?

Over the course of seven days, the Oregon delegation held high-level conferences with Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, amongst others.

The lawmakers attended the 2025 Vietnam International Sourcing Expo, a significant commerce present the place world patrons join with Vietnamese producers.

They additionally toured a semiconductor and AI middle, in addition to the Da Nang Free Trade Zone and Hi-Tech Park.

The delegates additionally marked 30 years of normalized U.S. and Vietnam relations.

They hosted a “Friends of Oregon” reception with the American Chamber of Commerce, aiming to bolster private and enterprise connections between the state and nation.

“The best thing we can do right now is to continue to strengthen our relationships,” stated Rep. Nguyen. “We need to be at the table, ready to support Oregon business, Oregon farmers, Oregon agriculture, Oregon manufacturing, because those translate directly into jobs here in Oregon.”

The Port of Portland and the Long An International Port signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The settlement, whereas not legally binding, goals to coordinate transport logistics, consolidate cargo flows, and pursue methods to cut back carbon emissions.

The partnership might open new routes for Oregon items and entice extra international funding.

“Although they’re not binding contracts, what it does signal is that we have common interests. It signals to our partners that we’re looking for ways we can develop and strengthen these relationships,” stated Nguyen. “Both of them are major ports that are on major rivers that open up into the Pacific, or in this case of Vietnam, into the South China Sea, but are really regional economic hubs for Oregon and for Vietnam.”

Economic urgency

For Rep. Boshart Davis, the journey carried a way of urgency. She pointed to research displaying that Oregon has misplaced “thousands of potential jobs and billions of potential private investments in the past five years” as firms look to extra business-friendly states.

“Headline after headline factors to an atmosphere in Oregon that’s pushing out enterprise,” she stated. “Oregon needs to get very serious about investing in keeping trade sector jobs and job creators,” said Boshart Davis.

Both co-chairs argue that international trade can help stabilize Oregon’s economy, especially for rural communities that heavily rely on exports.

“Forty percent of our agricultural products are exported,” stated Boshart Davis. “We have opportunity and are geographically positioned to advance trade, and I don’t believe we have maximized our opportunities. But I’ll be blunt. We have a lot to do in Oregon as policymakers to increase these opportunities and make Oregon a place to do business. There is no trade without a thriving business community,” stated Boshart Davis.

The introduction of recent tariffs on Vietnam by the Trump Administration was additionally high of thoughts on the occasion, in accordance with Rep. Nguyen.

“That’s why we’re having these meetings and this engagement. Thinking about ‘how do we balance the trade relationship?'” stated Nguyen.

Nguyen added that the delegation focuses on discovering sensible options, equivalent to discovering methods to extend Oregon’s agricultural exports and entice international direct funding from Vietnam.

“Whether that’s cooperation in finding ways to get more Oregon agricultural products into the Vietnamese market, or thinking about how we do have foreign direct investment from Vietnam into Oregon companies or into investing in Oregon state, that was something we talked a lot about,” stated Nguyen.

Why did these lawmakers go, and who paid for this?

Rep. Nguyen acknowledged that it was uncommon for such a visit to not embrace the Governor or a high-level federal official. He stated that, as legislators, he felt they need to take a way more lively position within the dialogue round commerce.

“We’re the ones creating the policy around trade for the state. So it made sense for us to think about, well, ‘what can we do in our capacity?’,” stated Nguyen.

Rep. Nguyen made it clear that taxpayer {dollars} didn’t finance the commerce mission.

Nguyen stated the journey may very well be paid for with official funds, marketing campaign funds or private funds.

Both he and Rep. Boshart Davis stated they used private funds to pay for the journey.

“We have a very limited office budget. So, I want to make sure we preserve that for our official needs here in Salem and Oregon,” stated Nguyen.

Boshart Davis stated that members of the Port of Portland who made the journey doubtless used their very own organizational funds and that Business Oregon had small grants out there for many who utilized.

KATU has reached out to Rep. Yunker and Rep. Isadore to find out how their journeys had been funded.

Personal that means and searching forward

The mission additionally held private significance for Nguyen, whose household had fled Vietnam as refugees after the Vietnam War.

“To come back 50 years later as a child of refugees and as a sitting state legislator, engaging with the Vietnamese government in an official capacity, is quite historic,” stated Nguyen. “Being able to represent my homeland, the United States, in Vietnam is quite remarkable.

Despite the symbolism and the personal meaning, Nguyen emphasized the practical takeaways from the trip. Creating concrete business leads, stronger government relationships, and a template for future legislative trade missions.

“I actually respect our partnership with the entire people that had been concerned in making this journey an incredible success and hope that that is the blueprint for future legislative commerce missions,” said Nguyen.

The co-chairs of the Trade caucus said they envision it as an ongoing bipartisan forum to develop trade-friendly policies, reduce regulatory barriers, and promote international investment.

“By strengthening partnerships and advancing Oregon ‘s pursuits overseas, we’re constructing the muse for long-term prosperity for each area of our state,” stated Boshart Davis.