VNExpress-Oct 29
Vietnam’s foreign trade in goods has exceeded US$1 trillion this year for the first ever time. Exports have been worth $493 billion, up 27.2% year-on-year. Imports are up 37.6% to nearly $508 billion, according to the customs department.
The trade figure has gone past full-year 2025’s $930 billion with two months to spare. With imports growing faster than exports, the trade deficit was $14.02 billion. The department forecast exports to rise by more than 25% for the full year, well above the government’s target of 15-16%. In 2007, when the country joined the World Trade Organization, its trade had been $100 billion. Growth this year has been driven mainly by foreign-owned companies, who accounted for $778 billion of the trade figure, up 37% from a year earlier. Domestic companies recorded $223 billion, a 16% rise.
The three largest traded items were computers, electronic products and their components; phones and components; and machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts. China and the U.S. remained Vietnam’s two largest trading partners. Exports to several markets with which Vietnam has free trade agreements rose sharply, including Mexico, up 42.5%, South Korea (19.1%), Japan (18.6%), and Canada (14.4%). Vietnam now has trade ties with 237 countries and territories. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is drafting a strategy for goods imports and exports through 2030, with diversifying markets being a priority. It wants to ensure that no single market accounts for more than 25% of total exports or 35% of imports by 2030. The combined share of the three largest export markets or regions will be capped at 55%. For the fourth quarter, the Ministry of Industry and Trade plans to focus on utilizing free trade agreements, expanding markets, and improving companies’ capability to comply with regulations. Measures include early warnings about trade remedy cases, tariff barriers, green standards, traceability requirements, and rules of origin. The ministry also plans to promote formal exports, expand agreements and protocols for agricultural quarantine, invest in cold-chain logistics, and standardize growing areas and packing facilities to meet the global market’s requirements.
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