Vietnam is selling more than buying in many major markets such as the US, EU, and Japan. Of these, the US is Vietnam’s largest export market, accounting for nearly 30% of the country’s total export turnover. US importers spend nearly 10 billion USD/month to import Vietnamese goods.

8 months, trade surplus of over 68 billion USD

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that in the first 8 months of this year, Vietnam's exports to the US earned about 77.9 billion USD, accounting for 29.4% of total export turnover and increasing by 25.4% over the same period last year (the same period in 2023 decreased by 19%). Thus, on average, Americans spend more than 9.7 billion USD per month to buy goods from Vietnam. On the other hand, Vietnam imported about 9.8 billion USD from the US in the past 8 months, up 5.3% over the same period last year. Thus, with strong growth in both exports and imports of goods, two-way trade between Vietnam and the US has reached nearly 87.7 billion USD in 8 months. The General Statistics Office said that in the first 8 months of this year, the trade surplus with the US is estimated at 68.1 billion USD, up 28.6% over the same period.

Seafood exports to the US show signs of improvement. PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

According to updated data from the General Department of Customs (detailed data published until the end of July), the most exported goods to the US are mainly computers, electronic products and components, reaching 13.19 billion USD, up 50.8% (equivalent to an increase of 4.45 billion USD); machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts reaching 11.15 billion USD, up 19.9% ​​(equivalent to an increase of 1.85 billion USD); textiles and garments reaching 8.93 billion USD, up 5.5% (equivalent to an increase of 468 million USD); phones of all kinds and components reaching 6.49 billion USD, up 31.9% (equivalent to an increase of 1.57 billion USD); footwear of all kinds reaching 4.72 billion USD, up 15.2% (equivalent to an increase of 622 million USD) compared to the same period last year.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that Vietnamese goods are increasingly popular in the US market due to their continuously improved quality, updated trends and competitive prices. On the other hand, changes in the supply chain as well as the wave of investment shifts have contributed to enhancing the production capacity of Vietnamese enterprises. This simultaneously creates opportunities and room for Vietnamese goods to increase exports to the world in general and the US market in particular.

In addition to the main export groups to the US such as computers, electronic products and components, textiles, footwear, and leather, the export of agricultural and aquatic products after a difficult period due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic also showed signs of positive recovery. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that seafood exports in the first 8 months increased by 9% over the same period, reaching 6.3 billion USD. In particular, the strong recovery was recorded in major markets such as the US, China and the EU.

A representative of VASEP said that in addition to increased market demand, the US Department of Agriculture's expanded bidding program created a great opportunity for white-meat fish such as Vietnamese pangasius to enter this large market. In addition, the anti-dumping investigation on Vietnamese pangasius by the US Department of Commerce also brought good news when it was determined that Vietnamese enterprises did not violate, helping to avoid anti-dumping taxes. This is also an important turning point for Vietnamese pangasius products after two decades of facing a "suspended sentence" against anti-dumping.

Invest in the US, why not?

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang, Institute of International Trade and Economics (National Economics University), commented: Over the past 10 years, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the US has increased fourfold, from more than 29 billion USD in 2013 to nearly 111 billion USD in 2023. Even at times when import and export faced difficulties and declined, Vietnam still had a trade surplus with this market.

Vietnam needs to focus on deep processing so that exports to the US have higher added value. PHOTO: NG.NGA

"It is understandable that Vietnam has a trade surplus with the US market or some markets in the EU because the activities of the two economies complement each other. Americans are strong in investment capital and technology, which will be brought to countries with advantages in production. As for items such as textiles, footwear, agricultural, forestry and fishery products, phones, computers, furniture, etc., the US does not have the need to boost production and will buy from other countries, including Vietnam. However, although Vietnam's agricultural and aquatic products exported to the US are in large quantities and the turnover is increasing strongly, most of them are raw materials, packaged in large bags and without labels. Enterprises in the US import them for deep processing and labeling, so the added value from their goods will be extremely low. When the added value that Vietnam enjoys is not high, we will fall into the trap of "selling goods on behalf of others" very close. That is something to pay close attention to", Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang analyzed.

In addition, in recent years, Americans have increased their purchases of products such as solar panels, steel, and electronic components from Vietnam. This has made goods exported to the US more and more abundant, but this is also a group of goods that is at risk of being subject to punitive taxes. Faced with the increasing trade surplus to the US, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang noted three points to pay attention to. First, there needs to be a mechanism for regular prevention and warning. Up to now, the US has not considered Vietnam to have a market economy, so it is easy to bring one or a group of goods from Vietnam for investigation at any time.

Second, Vietnam's exports still depend on raw materials from China. Meanwhile, China is a market with many groups of goods that are subject to heavy taxes by the US. Third, there should be a policy to encourage investment in the US. A Vietnamese investor can seek investment opportunities in the US, produce goods and sell locally or export to other countries more easily and have a greater opportunity to expand the market. "The US has a very good investment attraction policy, why don't we think about raising fish and growing trees in that area?", Mr. Lang asked.

It is necessary to reform and simplify administrative procedures related to exports, and have solutions to improve the capacity and quality of logistics infrastructure to help reduce costs and time for transporting goods, in order to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods in the US market. In particular, it is necessary to have training programs to support businesses in improving product quality, complying with US standards and regulations, which are also international standards.Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh (Academy of Finance)

Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper