Topic 1: Vietnam Building Rapid Bus System in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is building a bus rapid transport system in hopes of making public travel
simpler.

Vietnamese people have many transportation choices. They use personal cars, and visitors to the
country might pay for a bicycle-based vehicle. The company GoDee offers a car transport
service, similar to Uber. GoDee also offers people a low-cost way to share a ride in bigger
vehicles like vans.

The Vietnamese government wants people to use more public transportation. However, building
projects for underground train systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have had repeated delays.
Traditional buses are slow and unpredictable.

The new bus system for Ho Chi Minh City would create special lanes for electric bus use only.
The buses are expected to save time by limiting traffic and operating more often than traditional
buses. Vietnamese officials say the new system would reduce traffic and pollution. They did not
say when it might open, however.

The new system is expected to cost about $137 million. Some observers say they are not sure the
city can support that cost.

Switzerland is helping to pay part of the project‘s cost. ―The project will demonstrate
considerable economic, environmental and social benefits,‖ said Ivo Sieber, Switzerland's
ambassador-designate to Vietnam.

Tech and public transport

City planners around the world are trying to improve public transportation to reduce traffic and
pollution while staying within a budget. Shanghai, China and Singapore have tried ―on-demand
buses,‖ for example. The system lets riders use an app on their phone to communicate their
transport needs. Then a travel path is created to transport as many people as possible most
efficiently.

New, small technology companies have begun to enter the field, increasing data collection. City
planners use the data to examine traffic patterns and choose the best transportation methods.

Uber, when it operated in Vietnam, said it would work with city planners to examine this kind of
data. Grab bought Uber‘s Vietnam business in 2018. Critics say that business has worsened
traffic in Vietnam and other places because more people are hiring private rides instead of taking
public transportation.
The World Bank also is helping to pay for the new bus rapid transport system in Ho Chi Minh
City. In a press release, the World Bank office in Hanoi said the system would improve
movement around the city, giving riders more choices. This includes mixing rapid and traditional
buses, private rides and an underground train, or subway.

Last year, the city's population was reported to be almost 9 million. That is an increase of 1.8
million since 2009. However, the number of city roads has not changed.

City officials have not given details on how they will spend the $137 million. But they say it will
be used to buy electric buses and to build bus-only lanes that will include street lights and
cameras. The money also will be used to train transportation officials.

I‘m Caty Weaver.

VOA News reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr.
was the editor.

1. How would you spend the $137 million? Why?

2. Where would you start first and why?
3. Should the Swiss government have a saying with their gifts?
4. How are we going to solve the traffic jam problems?
5. Should the government set a deadline for the project and stop delaying
it?
6. What are your thoughts on this new subway or metro bus?
Topic 2: Singapore Grows More with Less on 'Sky Farms'
Big changes in agriculture are taking place in Singapore. Some people say the small, Southeast
Asian nation is leading a farming revolution.

Singapore aims to increase its own food production by growing vegetables on top of office
buildings. It also has set up Sustenir
tiered fish farms and is using laboratories to grow shrimp, a popular
treat. That way, the island nation will not have to depend as much on imports to feed its 5.6
million people.

Singapore produces about 10% of its food. But as climate change and population growth threaten
food supplies, it wants to raise that to 30% by the year 2030, under a plan known as ‗30-by-30‘.

The problem is space.

Singapore is a small country, with only 724 square kilometers of land. Only one percent of that
land area is used for agriculture. Food production costs are higher there than the rest of Southeast
Asia. The pressure is on new farmers to answer the government‘s call to ―grow more with less.‖

―Whenever I talk about food security in Singapore, I tell folks don‘t think land - think space.
Because you can go upwards and sideways,‖ said Paul Teng. He is an agriculture professor at
Nanyang Technological University. He spoke with the Reuters news agency.

There are more than 30 vertical farms in Singapore — ones that grow up, not across, the land.
The number of so-called ―sky farms‖ has doubled over the past three years.

Sustenir Agriculture is one of these businesses. Its hydroponic farm grows non-native foods like
kale, cherry tomatoes and strawberries inside buildings under artificial lighting. Then it sells the
produce to local supermarkets and online stores.

Sustenir raised $16 million from investors last year. The money will be used to expand
operations in Singapore and open in Hong Kong.

Some of that money came from Singapore state investor Temasek. It is also providing financing
to Apollo Aquaculture Group, which is building a highly-automated, eight-story fish farm. The
project is expected to cost about $50 million.
Apollo produces 110 tons of fish each year. It says the new fish farm will mean it can provide 20
times that amount.

―It is too unpredictable to do things now in the traditional way,‖ said Apollo chief Eric Ng. In
recent years, there have been problems with algae blooms killing off farmers‘ fish.

Singapore‘s government plans to build an 18-hectare agriculture area for indoor plant factories
and insect farms by the middle of 2021. Some people get protein by eating insects.

The plan was first announced in March. Government officials have yet to say how much the ‗30-
by-30‘ plan will cost.

Not everyone thinks the new technology is best.

Egg farmer William Ho says the government should not depend so much on agriculture
technology businesses.

―Many of them have failed. That‘s why I‘m always asking the government why don‘t you invest
in us old-timers. We are more practical,‖ he said.

Professor Paul Teng said an issue for urban farmers is that the high cost of the technology
makes their products too pricey for many people.

One new business is Shiok Meats. It aims to be the world‘s first to sell shrimp grown from cells
in a laboratory.

The process involves cells grown in a nutrient solution in tanks. After four to six weeks, the fluid
is removed, leaving small pieces of shrimp. The company says the process is harmless to
animals.

Shiok Meats plans to sell its product in one or two top restaurants by late 2020. By 2030, it hopes
to produce enough shrimp meat to feed Singapore.

I‘m Jill Robbins.

The Reuters news agency reported this story. Anne Ball adapted the story for VOA Learning
English. George Grow was the editor.
Topic 3: Amazon Expands in the Transportation Industry
Technology company Amazon is expanding its investments in transportation, a move that could
bring it in competition with some of its business partners.

Companies that could be affected include United Parcel Service and Uber Technologies.
Amazon‘s new investments and alliances in the automotive supply chain are part of the reason.
For example, Amazon could both send products to customers and provide services to car
drivers.

Businesses such as Amazon Web Services and Fulfillment by Amazon started as efforts to cut
costs and improve customer service. They later expanded to corporate customers. However,
some experts say companies working closely with Amazon risk losing business to the online
seller as its transportation-related business grows.

Amazon founder and chief executive officer Jeff Bezos has said little publicly about the
company‘s goals in transportation-related industries. But the company appears to be using its
strengths in logistics, cloud computing and digital services to go into other fields. Reuters news
agency spoke with more than 20 people who have knowledge of Amazon‘s plans. They said the
company wants to use its strengths to get into areas such as robotics and manufacturing.

John Ellis is a transportation business advisor formerly with Ford Motor Company. He said some
corporate customers of Amazon ―should be very scared‖ of the company‘s move to provide
services linked to cars. He thinks car buyers will be more interested in digital services used in
cars and will not care whether they are ―in a Ford or a Chrysler or a Chevrolet or a BMW.‖

Amazon also has sought to get legal rights to sales, or patents, for technology related to cars and
transportation.

Reuters studied more than 5,000 patents received by Amazon from December 2016 to May 2019
by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The news service found that at least 210 of Amazon‘s
patents are for transportation-related technologies such as drones and driverless ground vehicles.

Amazon‘s push to own transportation-related patents has been much larger than efforts by
competitors Apple and Google, Reuters reports.

Amazon is also quickly expanding its business with car manufacturers. The company is working
on two projects using its cloud-computing abilities with carmakers Ford and Volkswagen.
Gavin Sherry is chief executive officer of Autonomic, a subsidiary of Ford that provides digital
services. He said Ford can learn a lot from Amazon, which is working with Autonomic and Ford
to build a cloud-based system.

―They have the relationships, credibility and know-how that we will need in order to fulfill
our vision,‖ he told Reuters.

Alexa, Amazon‘s digital assistant service, is part of the company‘s push to get inside cars.
Amazon is working with a number of automakers to put Alexa into vehicles. The company has
made deals with General Motors, Ford, Volvo and Honda to permit drivers to order products
from their cars.

Ned Curic used to work for Toyota but came to Amazon to oversee Alexa Auto in 2017. He said
the company wants Alexa in ―as many vehicles as possible, either through
direct integrations with automakers or through automotive accessories with Alexa built in.‖

Amazon has placed a lot of effort in another area too: cutting the cost of transporting packages. It
has mainly done this through the company‘s Prime and Prime Air services.

Electric vehicles are another part of Amazon‘s plans. Stephan Keese is with the international
business advisor Roland Berger. He said Amazon is supplying home electrical charging systems
for the e-tron electric sports utility vehicle by carmaker Audi. Kleese said the move could be a
step toward doing more with vehicles.

I‘m John Russell.

And I‘m Jonathan Evans.

Ben Klayman and Paul Lienert reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it story
for Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor.
Topic 4: Vietnam Aims to Grow Economy by 7 Percent in 2020

Vietnam‘s government is seeking to expand the country‘s economy by seven percent this year.
The goal would be one of Vietnam‘s highest growth rates yet and could be greater than China‘s
expected economic expansion in 2020.

The Vietnam-based financial services company SSI Research reported the goal on January third.
The Vietnamese central government set a target for its Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, to
increase 6.8 to seven percent. GDP represents the value of all goods and services produced
within a country during one year.

SSI Research said the growth is expected to be driven by investments in manufacturing, a lack of
trade disputes involving Vietnam and a rising middle class. Manufacturing is predicted to be the
leading area of growth, followed closely by the service industry, SSI Research said.

The Asian Development Bank keeps economic data of Asian countries. Its information shows
that a seven percent expansion rate would place Vietnam among the 10 fastest-growing Asian
economies this year. It also would put Vietnam ahead of China. The development bank has
predicted a six percent rate for China in 2020.

Song Seng Wun is an economist with CIMB, a banking group in Singapore. He told VOA that
much of Vietnam‘s predicted growth in 2020 will come from money flowing into factories,
offices and port operations.

Experts say foreign-supported manufacturing is expected to lead the country‘s economy in 2020,
just as it has for the past seven years. Song said a lot of foreign investors like, what he calls,
―government stability‖ in Vietnam. Pay for factory workers in Vietnam can also be low. They
can receive as little as $132 a month.

Most of the investors come from Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The companies‘
Vietnamese factories produce things like clothing, car parts and electronics.

In the first half of 2019, foreign investment projects were expected to reach $9.1 billion. That
would be a nearly eight percent increase over the same period in 2018. That information comes
from the website of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Besides manufacturing, economic experts say tourism and improvements in higher education are
also expected to increase growth.
Between 2010 and 2018, the number of foreign tourists in Vietnam increased from 5 million to
more than 15 million. This growth was mainly fueled by an increase in Chinese visitors.

Economists say another driver of foreign investment in Vietnam is a rise in higher

education enrollment. The percentage of Vietnamese receiving higher education has jumped
from 10 to about 30 percent of the population since 2000.

Murray Hiebert is a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington, D.C. He told VOA that education matters in Vietnam because investors want
workers with stronger problem-solving skills. Such employees can work in technical positions or
help lead local offices, Hiebert said.

The Boston Consulting Group predicts that more than one-third of Vietnam‘s 97 million people
will be in, what is considered, the middle class by next year. Middle-class growth is fueled
mainly by jobs created by manufacturing for export. As a result, many Vietnamese now have
more money to spend on things like electronics, transportation, travel and education, the group
said.

I‘m Bryan Lynn.

Ralph Jennings reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning
English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.
Topic 5: More Coffeehouses in California Ban Throw-away Cups
A new coffee culture is forming in and around San Francisco, California. A growing number of
coffeehouses there are barring paper cups. Instead, they are using glass containers or creating
―bring your own‖ cup policies.

The movement started among neighborhood cafes in an effort to reduce waste. Now it is gaining
support from large businesses in the city – and around the country.

Efforts to reduce waste

Celebrated cook Dominique Crenn is opening a café in San Francisco next year that will
not use to-go bags, throw-away coffee cups or any plastic. Diners who plan to buy a to-go
drink from Boutique Crenn will be asked to bring their own coffee cups, a spokeswoman
said.

The Blue Bottle coffeehouse company uses about 15,000 to-go cups each month at its 70 shops
across the U.S. The company recently said it wants to ―show our guests and the world that we
can eliminate disposable cups.‖

Blue Bottle is starting small with plans to stop using paper cups at two of its stores in 2020. The
move is part of a promise to produce ―zero waste‖ by the end of next year. Customers will have
to bring their own cup or pay an additional $3 to $5 for a reusable cup. They can keep
the mug or return it to get their money back.

The company‘s chief executive officer, Bryan Meehan, said in a statement that the new program
will help guide the company on how to expand its policy nationwide.

He said, ―We expect to lose some business. We know some of our guests won‘t like it — and
we‘re prepared for that.‖

Larger coffee and fast-food businesses around the U.S. are feeling a sense of urgency to be more
environmentally friendly, said Bridget Croke. She is with the New York-based investment
company Closed Loop Partners. It is working with Starbucks and McDonald‘s to develop a
substitute for the disposable coffee cup.

Today‘s to-go cups for hot drinks are not only made from paper. They also have plastic to
prevent leaking. This makes them hard to recycle, Croke said. She admitted that it is not likely
large national food and drink companies will stop using disposable cups completely or ask all
customers to bring their own.
So, her company is looking for other solutions. Starbucks and McDonald‘s paid $10 million to a
partnership with Closed Loop to develop the ―single-use cup of the future.‖ The result is
expected to be recyclable and to break down naturally.

Starbucks has more than 15,000 U.S. stores and about 16,000 in other countries. It plans to test
newly designed recyclable cups in five cities next year.

The state of California has long been a leader in creating more environmentally
friendly practices.

In 2014, California became the first state in America to bar stores from providing disposable
plastic bags to shoppers. Some cities in the state have passed a number of other laws aimed at
reducing waste.

This year, San Francisco International Airport became the nation‘s first major airport to stop
selling water in plastic bottles.

Starting in January, cafes and restaurants in Berkeley, California, will charge 25 cents for
disposable cups. San Francisco is considering similar legislation.

Many coffee drinkers at the Blue Bottle coffeehouses in the San Francisco area have accepted
banning disposable cups.

―Of course it‘s a good idea,‖ said Tracy Schroth, a writer who was buying a drink at a Blue Bottle
cafe in Oakland, California. ―It‘s such a small step to ask people to bring their own cup. People
just have to get into the mindset.‖

At a Blue Bottle store in San Francisco, electrician Jeff Michaels said he does love the coffee.
But, he does not want to pay more if he forgets to bring his own cup. ―I paid almost $7 for
this coffee,‖ Michaels said. ―How much are people willing to pay for a coffee?‖

Kedar Korde owns a small café. He is hopeful that one day it will become normal for coffee
drinkers to carry around reusable mugs. Korde‘s Perch Cafe in Oakland stopped using paper and
plastic cups in September.

He decided to make the change after his 9-year-old daughter‘s school cleaned up waste at Lake
Merritt, near his cafe. The students found his cafe‘s disposable cups in the water.

His daughter joked that she should not have to clean her room if he could not keep his own
things out of the lake. He took her words seriously.
―We‘re a small coffee shop. We‘re not going to save the world,‖ Korde said; but, he added, ―Our
cups are no longer winding up in the lake.‖

I‘m Jonathan Evans.

And I‘m Ashley Thompson.

The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning
English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.
Topic 6: China Cuts US Investments

China's direct investment in the United States has dropped sharply in recent years.

Rhodium Group, a New York-based research service, reports that direct investment dropped by
80 percent from 2016 to 2018.

The biggest drop came in real estate holdings and hotels. Chinese investors seem no longer in a
hurry to buy major properties in cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los
Angeles.

Chinese real estate investment in the United States rose 200 percent from 2015 to 2016, when it
reached $16.5 billion. Then, it stopped expanding. During 2018, not a single Chinese real estate
or hotel investment reached more than $100 million, the Rhodium Group found.

Oceanwide Holdings, a Chinese company, is putting up buildings on prime properties in San

Francisco and Los Angeles. Work reportedly has stopped on one of the towers at the San
Francisco Oceanwide Center. Work also has stopped at the Los Angeles Oceanwide Plaza.

―The skylines are no longer filled with cranes, really supplied by Chinese investments coming
over here in the downtown,‖ said Stephen Cheung, president of the World Trade Center in Los
Angeles. He also is executive vice president of the Los Angeles County Economic Development
Corporation.

―What we're worried about [is] the construction that's already here that cannot be finished
because of the financing situations,‖ Cheung said.

Construction work stalled

The billion-dollar Oceanwide Plaza is being built on land near the Los Angeles convention
center and the place where the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers play basketball. Construction
stopped in January for the Plaza‘s apartment housing, hotel and shopping center. Cheung said he
has seen very little activity since then.

The unfinished building at Oceanwide Plaza is just one sign of a sharp drop in investment money
from China.

Overall, direct foreign investment between the two countries set a record in 2016 of $60 billion,
the Rhodium Group reported.

One reason for the drop in investment money is a change in China‘s monetary policy.
―There were the currency controls out of China…I think it was probably to get money out
of China into a safe investment. (But) the Chinese cracked down,‖ said Dale Goldsmith. He
is a managing partner at the law offices of Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP.

―The Chinese companies couldn't get the money out of China… so certain projects here we've
seen (stop),‖ Cheung said.

Chinese investment had also fallen because of questions being asked by a

federal watchdog organization, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The
Rhodium Group estimates the committee's investigation has led Chinese investors to walk away
from more than $2.5 billion in U. S. deals.

The relatively strong U.S. economy is another reason for China‘s declining investment.

―The dollar has been very strong,‖ said Goldsmith, noting that a strong dollar makes investing in
the United States less appealing to the Chinese. He added that the rising costs of U.S. building
projects also hurt.

In addition, there is no sign the trade war between the two countries will end soon. As a result,
Chinese companies are not sure whether they should enter the U.S. market, Cheung added.

Southeast Asia gains

The trade war has created a new market. To avoid high tariffs, international companies are
moving manufacturing out of China. They are going to places like Vietnam.

In Los Angeles, Cheung noted he is seeing increased interest from Southeast Asian countries.
Vietnam is now looking very carefully into Los Angeles because it has such a large Vietnamese
population, Cheung said.

"We're also working with our partners in Singapore and Indonesia and Thailand to really expand
those opportunities, because we have been dependent on China for such a long time,‖ he added.

So long as economic tensions remain high between China and the United States, Los Angeles
and other U.S. cities will have to look elsewhere for investments.

I‘m Susan Shand.

VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George
Grow was the editor.
Topic 7: Is the US Economy Nearing a Recession?

Financial markets are giving warning signs of a recession. At the same time, the world economy
is weakening, and the trade war between the United States and China has intensified.

All of which is raising concerns about the U.S. economy and about whether the country‘s record-
breaking, 10-year expansion is nearing an end.

On Wednesday, a change in interest rates caused many investors to worry: The interest rate on
the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond briefly dropped below the rate on the 2-year Treasury bond for
the first time since 2007.

Usually, investors earn higher interest on longer-term bonds than on short-term ones. Put another
way, the U.S. government will usually pay more interest to investors who are willing to let out
their money for longer periods.

So, when longer-term Treasurys pay less than shorter-term ones, economists call it
an inverted yield curve. An inverted curve suggests that investors expect the economy to slow
so much that the U.S. central bank will soon feel forced to cut short-term rates to try to support
the economy.

This is a sign of economic pessimism. Inverted curves are very good at predicting recessions:
They have happened before in each of the past five recessions.

The inversion sent stock prices down a lot on Wednesday. The leading measure of U.S. stocks,
the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 800 points, or 3%. An inversion, however, does not say
when a recession will arrive. In the past, there have been about two years between an inversion
and a recession.

So are we nearing a recession?

Many economists worry that chances of a recession are rising. Julia Coronado is the chief
economist at MacroPolicy Perspectives, which follows the U.S. economy. She sees a 40%
probability of a recession within the next 12 months. Last month, she thought the likelihood was
30%.

Her concerns, and the worries of other economists, are partly the result of the U.S.-China trade
war. The trade war appears to have persuaded many businesses not to expand or invest in new
buildings and equipment. It is also harming Germany‘s export-led economy, which shrank
between April and June of this year. In addition, Britain plans to leave the European Union on
October 31, while Japan and South Korea are having their own trade fight.
The U.S. government threatened new 10% tariffs on $300 billion of mostly consumer goods
from China, but then announced a delay until December. That is because President Donald
Trump and his administration do not want prices to rise before the Christmas holiday shopping
season. If the tariffs began immediately, it would force stores to raise their prices.

For now, most other U.S. economic signs do not point to recession. Employers are adding jobs,
the unemployment rate remains near a 50-year low.

An inverted yield curve is not enough to say for sure there will be a recession, explained Eric
Winograd. He is an economist at investment and search service Alliance Bernstein.

―I would want to see other signals that point to that, but we‘re not seeing them right now,‖ he
added.

What is a recession?

Generally, a recession is happening when Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinks for six
months or longer. The GDP is the best measure of U.S. economic growth.

But that is not the official definition. The National Bureau of Economic Research is a private
organization of economists that officially defines recessions. Those economists say a recession
happens when there is a sharp drop in economic activity that lasts for ―a few months.‖ They
measure the fall by looking at different kinds of economic information, including GDP, wages
and jobs.

The bureau makes its declaration of a recession after studying recent economic reports. So, the
economy can actually be in recession for some time before it is officially declared so. The
bureau, for example, declared in November 2008 that the Great Recession had begun 11 months
earlier.

What do economists watch for?

The most important sign of a weakening economy is the weekly number of people who, for the
first time, request unemployment assistance from the government. People can receive the aid if
they have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. So, if that number is rising, it means
businesses are cutting jobs.

Last week, the number was very low: 209,000.

Economists also look at factory activity since people stop buying cars, refrigerators and other
large goods when they are worried about their jobs or the economy.

How severe might a recession be?

It is hard to know the effect of a recession, but many economists think it will not be that bad.
That is because many American families are in a better financial position now than before the
Great Recession during the late 2000s.

Household debt is lower, and U.S. interest rates are really low.
Topic 8: Vietnam’s Economy Gets Boost from US-China Trade War

Vietnam is expecting solid growth this year as it receives an economic lift from the U.S.-China
trade war.

Vietnamese officials have predicted the country‘s $300 billion economy will grow between 6.6
to 6.8 percent this year. SSI Research, based in Hanoi, reported the estimate.

The research company said strength in manufacturing and exports were mainly responsible for
the 2019 prediction. Both areas have experienced growth over the past year as companies moved
production to Vietnam from China.

Also, Vietnam‘s past economy, measured by gross domestic product, or GDP, proved to be
larger than had been thought. ―They found that they understated their GDP itself,‖
Singapore- based economist Song Seng Wun told VOA.

Earnings results from some companies were not included in earlier GDP estimates. So in August,
the government raised its reported GDP by 25.4 percent for money discovered between 2010 and
2017, Vietnamese media reported.

Vietnam has depended heavily on export manufacturing since the late 1980s. That policy has
helped Vietnam become one of Asia‘s fastest-growing economies.

Economic experts say Vietnam is also getting a lift from companies seeking to find a way around
problems caused by U.S.-China trade tension.

Some companies facing U.S. tariffs on goods shipped from China are moving business to
Vietnam. Some of those companies can produce and ship the same goods from Vietnam without
paying U.S. tariffs on a total of $550 billion in goods now made in China.

Frederick Burke is a lawyer with Baker McKenzie in Ho Chi Minh City. He told VOA that such
market moves to avoid tariffs are now becoming ―a real thing‖ in Vietnam. ―It‘s really
happening, so that‘s going to be driving up prices and driving up GDP a bit,‖ Burke said.

One example is Chinese-based wireless earphone maker GoerTek. The company plans to move
production of Apple AirPods to Vietnam for an investment of $260 million, SSI Research said in
July. In another case, Google plans to move Pixel smartphone production from China to
Vietnam, the Nikkei Asian Review reported in August. Google has not commented on the report.
Kevin Snowball is the Chief Investment Officer for PXP Vietnam Asset Management in Ho Chi
Minh City. He said some companies are even trying to send goods made in China to Vietnam
and then re-labeling them as ―made in Vietnam‖ for shipment to the U.S.

Burke says the increase in investment by manufacturers attempting to avoid China is putting
pressure on land, labor and organizational resources.

Low labor costs, pro-investment policies and a lack of trade tension with the U.S. has readied
Vietnam to enter into a trade agreement with the European Union. Vietnam joined the 11-
country Trans Pacific Partnership free trade deal this year.

Experts say Vietnam is also seeking to increase investments by software companies and
computer parts manufacturers. Intel, Samsung Electronics and Foxconn Technology have all
made major hardware investments.

Vietnam grew 7.1 percent in 2018, the highest level in 11 years. Snowball says a growth rate in
the high sixes this year would be considered a ―strong‖ showing.

I‘m Bryan Lynn.

Ralph Jennings reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted his report for Learning
English. Caty Weaver was the editor.
Topic 9: US-China Trade War Is Good News for Some Countries

As with any war, there are winners and losers. That is also the case with the trade war between
China and the United States.

As the two sides battle, companies affected by high tariffs are looking to manufacture their
products elsewhere. So businesses operating in other countries are experiencing economic
growth.

Two factories in Vietnam manufacture electric bicycles for Pedego, an American company based
in California. About 80 percent of Pedego‘s bicycle parts once came from China, but not
anymore.

―Now, we‘re probably 70 percent in Vietnam, and 30 percent in Taiwan,‖ said Don DiCostanzo.
He is a co-founder of the company and its chief executive officer.

Shift to Vietnam

In February 2018, DiCostanzo decided to move production to Vietnam because of the threat of
high European Union tariffs on Chinese-made electric bikes. Production in Vietnam started
seven months later, in September. That was the same month the U.S government ordered tariffs
on Chinese-made products that included electric bikes.

―We then were immediately able to accelerate that production,‖ DiCostanza said. ―And we began
producing bikes in Vietnam for this country (the U.S.) in September right after the tariffs went in
place, and by Jan. 1, (2019), we eliminated all production in China and managed to
move all of our production…to Vietnam.‖

By the beginning of 2019, the factories in Vietnam were producing bicycles for Pedego. While
some parts are still coming from China, DiCostanzo kept looking in other countries for those
parts. In time, Pedego‘s need for Chinese-manufactured parts slowly decreased.

Trade war helps Vietnam and Mexico

Pedego is not the only company moving manufacturing away from China because of the
trade war.

The U.S.-based company GoPro moved production of cameras for the American market
from China to Mexico in June. GoPro said it made the move because of ―possible tariffs as
well as recognize some cost savings and efficiencies.‖
GoPro‘s cameras for markets other than the United States continue to be made in China.

―The two countries that are benefiting the most are Vietnam and Mexico…And everybody else
is looking at them with envy,‖ said Kevin Klowden. He heads the Center for Regional
Economics at the Milken Institute, a research center based in Santa Monica, California.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that goods imported from Mexico increased by more than 6
percent for the first six months of 2019, compared to the same time in 2018. It said imports from
Vietnam during that same period rose by more than 33 percent. Chinese imports for the same
period decreased by more than 12 percent.

―The Vietnamese government has done a (great) job of making themselves ready and
available…as a direct competitor to China for a while, particularly on cost,‖ Klowden said.

DiCostanzo said he found the quality of products from Vietnam was better than those from
China.

Return manufacturing to US

Manufacturing and outsourcing products in a worldwide economy is a tricky business, however.

Unusual weather, political unrest or even the appearance of a less costly competitor can cause
businesses to turn to a different manufacturer.

―Manufacturing has shown itself to be mobile in a way that we never could have imagined years
ago,‖ Klowden said.

Some companies in the United States, such as Pedego, would like to manufacture their products
in a U.S. community some day.

―A number of companies would like to move manufacturing back to the U.S. just…because
of stability. (But) manufacturing that moves back to the U.S. employs…fewer people than it
would have 20, 30 years ago,‖ Klowden explained.

Any business that manufactures in the U.S. and can successfully compete in the current economy
would use robots.

―These robots, you don‘t have to pay them overtime, and they don‘t have to take time off, and
they work 24/7,‖ Pedego‘s DiCostanzo said.

I‘m Susan Shand.VOA’s Elizabeth Lee reported this story. Susan Shand adapted her report for
Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
 Topic 10: US Small Businesses Set About Reinventing Themselves
Small business owners are worried about how to keep operating under restrictions aimed at
slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Reinvention may be the most important idea.

The U.S. Congress passed a measure that provided billions of dollars to small businesses to keep
them from collapsing. But even with that assistance, ―many small companies are still struggling
to reopen, and others will never reopen,‖ said Tom Sullivan. He is the vice president for small
business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.

There are 30 million small businesses in the United States and most have fewer than 75
employees. They need to reinvent themselves, Sullivan told VOA. ―There‘s definitely a new
normal, and I don‘t think companies can go back to the way they were before COVID-19.‖

Markos Panas is the founder of the Bread and Water Company in Alexandria, Virginia, outside
Washington, D.C. He knows this very well. ―When the coronavirus kicked open the door, it was
sink or swim, and we realized we had to make a lot of changes,‖ he said.

Like many small businesses, Bread and Water lost at least half of its revenue after the virus hit.
The number of customers quickly went down to nearly none as people stayed home.

Panas said a $10,000 CARES donation from congress has helped the bakery remain open.The
money is meant to help small businesses keep workers on the job through the health crisis.

Panas said the crisis actually forced his company to simplify its business. "Before we were trying
to do too much, and just breaking even as a wholesaler, restaurant, and bakery,‖ he said.

―We became a full-time, carry-out operation, with online ordering, something we hadn‘t done
before,‖ said Panas.

He also learned that less can be more.

―We've reduced our bread and pastry offerings, and provided a better variety‖ of other products,
he said. Panas added that he trained his employees to do more than one job.

The company is ―already making more money than we did before,‖ Panas said.

Companies that are not making changes are going to find it difficult to survive, said Joe Shamus.
He is a former military pilot who is the co-owner of Flags of Valor in Ashburn, Virginia.
The business employs combat veterans who handmake American flags from wood.

―Our company has had to change the way we do business,‖ Shamus said.

Like Bread and Water, Flags of Valor cut its retail sales and changed some of its products
including: ―…smaller, more affordable flags for the average consumer,‖ he said.

The NightLight Pediatric Urgent Care clinics in Houston, Texas, decided the internet was the
way to go.

―The eight clinics are in shopping centers, so in a way, we run it like a retail business…‖ said
Zawadi Bryant, the company‘s chief.

After COVID-19 arrived, ―there was a major drop in the number of children we were seeing.‖

As a result, he said, the company started to agree to see patients online. He said parents love it
because it is easy.

Couch Clarity provides mental health services in the Chicago suburbs. It also provides services
online. Company president Melissa Bercier said her workers were trained almost ―overnight‖
to provide ―teletherapy‖ which they had never done before.

Bread and Water Company‘s Panas said, changing is not easy, ―…but now is the perfect time to
reimagine what you can do.‖

I‘m Susan Shand.

VOA’s Deborah Block reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario
Ritter, Jr.was the editor.