Today will be my last blog of this trip since tomorrow is our last day. This morning we went the Cat Lai terminal where we visited the company Tan Cang – STC. I was shocked to find out when got there of how big of an operation they have got going on in the terminal. It ids no wonder why they control a large portion of the market share but in Vietnam and globally. As it turns out, a majority of the cargo here ends up being exported to the United States and imported in from China. 

After we had Italian food for lunch we went to the American Center. There we discussed when labor costs rose in other countries, companies started moving their operations to Vietnam and led them to become the major exporters they are today. Although, due to the recent implementation of tariffs, Vietnam’s trade could be impacted if they end up being set too high and companies start moving their operations elsewhere. Also, the low birth rate they are currently experience will increase labor costs when the workforce gets smaller in the near future. However, with Vietnam’s goals in mind, of having a wealthier nation, they are going to have to stride away from their current model of cheap labor and high amounts of trade as this would end up increase the labor costs here.

For our final stop of the day we went to the Ben Thanh Market. This was a fun experience however you have to be careful not to get ripped off. I found that almost everything for sale there was way over price because the sellers knew we were tourists. To overcome this I had to bargain with the key was to come in with a low offer and kind of stand your ground. Overall, I didn’t think I got a bad deal however coming from the UEF students that were with us it seemed a little over priced.