The withdrawal of the US from the Paris
Climate Change Agreement is expected to negatively affect Viet Nam-based
companies wishing to export energy equipment to the US, but keep Viet Nam’s
attractiveness to US firms investing in renewable energy-producing projects in
Viet Nam largely intact. Koos Neefjes, a climate change expert in Viet Nam,
told Viet Nam Investment Review that the US retreat from the Paris Climate
Change Agreement may affect firms wishing to export renewable energy equipment
to the US. “For US businesses interested in operating in Viet Nam that are
aiming to export to the US market, there may be some short-term effect of this
move by President Trump and related US policy changes,” Neefjes said. The Paris
Climate Change Agreement was signed in late 2015, and included almost every
country in the world, Viet Nam being one. The agreement’s aim is to curb
climate change and its effects through improving policy worldwide. Viet Nam has
attracted foreign investments in renewable energy development in recent years,
with products largely exported to foreign markets like the US. However, on June
2, US President Donald Trump announced that he will pull the US out of the
agreement and stop all payments to UN climate science programs. This move is
expected to facilitate American firms’ development of energy projects within the
US, and limit energy equipment imports while increasing exports. “The Trump
administration wants to produce more goods in the US itself and reduce its
imports while growing its exports. Us companies and other businesses in Viet
Nam that want to export solar power equipment for example, may start finding it
increasingly difficult. In fact, Viet Nam- and China-based businesses exporting
wind towers have already been accused of “dumping” in the US market,” Neefjes
explained. In 2012, the US commerce Department launched an investigation into
import duties on over USD100 million worth of wind towers from China and Viet
Nam. Imports of the equipment from the two countries in 2010 were estimated to
be worth USD103.6 million and USd51.9 million, respectively. The towers, which
are over 100 metres tall, are made of individual pieces assembled on site. They
support blades, and the housing for turbine. While providing no comment
regarding the issue, Adam Ward, Global Green Growth Institute’s country
representative for Viet Nam, told Viet Nam Investment Review that he sees
almost no negative impact for Trump’s move in terms of attracting American
firms into local renewable energy projects. He said Viet Nam has shown its
willingness to embrace green growth, and as such “many Us firms will still be
seeking opportunities in Viet Nam, regardless of the policies of the current US
administration. “For example, Viet Nam has an extremely high, untapped
potential in both solar and wind power production. With the competitive feed-in
tariff (FiT) for solar power that has been launched (9.35 US cents per kilowatt
hour), the future if solar power in Viet Nam is clear. Policies like this will
be the major factor for US firms wishing to develop projects in Viet Nam,
despite the policy of the Trump administration,” Ward said. According to John
Rockhold, head of the Viet Nam Business Forum’s Power and Energy Working Group,
some American companies have come to Viet Nam to introduce their latest
technologies and to improve Viet Nam’s renewable energy and waste-to-energy
offerings. US engineering know-how and technology are now active in local
renewable and energy projects under private sector contracts. “Over 35
community solar projects using US-engineered design, technology, and capacity-building
have been launched in the Mekong Delta,” Rockhold said. Experts also said
Trump’s new move will not affect Viet Nam “very strongly” in terms of
benefiting from the Green Climate Fund – a by-products of the Copenhagen
climate agreement – in which the US financial contribution is significant. They
said Viet Nam’s share in the international climate finance mechanism is limited
because the group of least-developed countries is the financing priority, and
Viet Nam is now classed as a middle income country (MIC). Viet Nam will still
receive official development assistance from the WU and development banks that
fall outside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s climate financing
mechanism. Furthermore, as a MIC, Viet Nam must, to a large degree, rely on its
own public resources and encourage private investment in clean energy
development.
Viet
Nam Investment Review p2 – June 12-18
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