Vietnam General Statistics Office Reports 29% Increase in Trade Surplus with the United States
Vietnam recorded a high growth rate of nearly 8% in the second quarter of this year (April to June). The main factor is believed to be the concentrated shipment of export goods ahead of the announcement of high tariffs by the United States.
According to major foreign media outlets on July 6 (local time), the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Vietnam announced that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate for the second quarter of this year reached 7.96% compared to the same period last year. This is the highest second-quarter growth rate since the second quarter of 2022 (8.56%).
As a result, Vietnam's overall GDP growth rate for the first half of this year reached 7.52%, the highest level since 2011. The GSO evaluated, "Despite the complex global and regional economic environment, Vietnam's socio-economic performance in the first half of the year was very positive, coming close to its targets."
Exports were at the center of this growth trend. In the first half of the year, Vietnam's export value increased by 14.4% year-on-year to $219.8 billion (about 300 trillion won). During the same period, imports rose by 17.9% to $212.2 billion. In particular, exports to the United States surged, resulting in a trade surplus with the U.S. of $62 billion (about 84.7 trillion won), an increase of 29.1%.
This is interpreted as a response to President Donald Trump's announcement in early April of up to 46% retaliatory tariffs on Vietnamese products. Analysts say that exporters rushed customs clearance before the tariffs took effect, causing exports to spike in a short period.
Amid these tensions, the United States and Vietnam recently reached a compromise in which a 20% tariff would be imposed on imported Vietnamese products, while no additional tariffs would be imposed on U.S. products. As a result, although Vietnam avoided ultra-high tariffs, the rate is about five times higher than before the Trump administration.
However, challenges remain. Since Vietnam relies heavily on intermediate goods imported from China, its trade deficit with China surged by 42.2% in the first half of the year to $55.6 billion (about 75.9 trillion won). In addition, as the United States decided to impose a high tariff of 40% on 'transshipment exports' passing through third countries such as China, AFP observed that the uncertainty surrounding the Chinese supply chain, on which Vietnamese manufacturing depends, is increasing even further.
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