<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Diplomatic Mission </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> United States Embassy, Hanoi </Th> <Td> Vietnamese Embassy, Washington, D.C. </Td> </Tr> <P> After a 20 - year hiatus of severed ties, then - U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on July 11, 1995 . Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both countries upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January 1995 to embassy status . As diplomatic ties between the nations grew, the United States opened a consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam opened a consulate in San Francisco, California . </P> <P> U.S. relations with Vietnam have become deeper and more diverse in the years since political normalization . The two countries have broadened their political exchanges through regular and regional security . The annual Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue resumed in 2006 after a two - year hiatus . They signed a Bilateral Trade Agreement in July 2000, which went into force in December 2001 . In 2003, the two countries signed a Counternarcotics Letter of Agreement (amended in 2006), a Civil Aviation Agreement, and a textile agreement . In January 2007, Congress approved Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) for Vietnam . </P>

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