Participation Requirements

All parties interested in participating in the Vietnam Business Development Mission must complete and submit an application package for consideration by the Department of Commerce. All applicants will be evaluated on their ability to meet certain conditions and best satisfy the selection criteria as outlined below. A maximum of 22 companies will be selected to participate in the mission from the applicant pool. U.S. companies already doing business with Vietnam as well as experienced U.S. exporters seeking to enter Vietnam for the first time are particularly encouraged to apply.

Fees and Expenses:

After a company has been selected to participate on the mission, a payment to the Department of Commerce in the form of a participation fee is required. The participation fee will be $3,750 per firm, which includes one principal representative. The fee for each additional firm representative is $850. Expenses for travel, lodging, most meals, and incidentals will be the responsibility of each mission participant. The option to participate in the mission is also being offered to U.S.-based firms with an established presence in Vietnam or neighboring countries; the same fee structure applies.

Conditions for Participation:

An applicant must submit, by the specified deadline, a completed and signed mission application and supplemental application materials, including adequate information on the company’s products and/or services, and the company’s primary market objectives, in order to facilitate evaluation of the application and appropriate matching with potential business partners.

Each applicant must also certify that the company meets Departmental guidelines for participation. A company’s products or services should be either produced in the United States, or, if not, marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have at least 51 percent U.S. content of the value of the finished product or service.

Selection Criteria for Participation: Selection will be based on the following criteria, listed in decreasing order of importance:

Suitability of the company’s products or services in Vietnam

Applicant’s potential for business in Vietnam, including likelihood of exports resulting from the mission and applicant’s export experience

Consistency of the applicant’s goals and objectives with the stated scope of the trade mission

Referrals from political organizations and any documents containing references to partisan political activities (including political contributions) will be removed from an applicant’s submission and not considered during the selection process.