Leading ASEAN in exports to the US

Goods manufactured in Vietnam exported to the United States have increased sharply since the beginning of the year, reaching the highest increase among ASEAN members, twice as high as Thailand and Singapore.

In the first half of 2024, there were approximately 55 billion USD worth of successfully exported goods to the United States, with the highest growth rate, up nearly 26% over the same period, leading and far exceeding the increase in goods exports to other markets such as the EU, ASEAN, Korea, etc.

Specifically, Vietnam has 8 groups of goods with export value of over 1 billion USD to the US in the first 6 months of the year, of which computers and components exceeded 10 billion USD.

In the list of items imported by the US from Vietnam in the past 6 months, in addition to computers and phones, there are also machinery, equipment, spare parts, textiles, footwear, wood and wood products.

In 2023, the export turnover of goods to the United States decreased by about 13 billion USD compared to 2022, due to the impact of the global economic and trade downturn, but there were still 97 billion USD of Vietnamese goods exported to this market. Of which, the group of electronic goods exported to the United States alone reached 25 billion USD in the past year. Notably, the United States is also the only export market exceeding 100 billion USD/year.

Mr. Do Ngoc Hung, Vietnam's Trade Counselor in the United States, said: "Vietnam's exports to the United States in the first five months of this year accounted for 33% of ASEAN's total exports to the United States."

It is worth noting that many US policies are opening up huge opportunities for Vietnamese goods. Vietnamese suppliers benefit from the policy of increasing purchases from other countries, reducing over-reliance on a few markets. Data shows that in 2023, smartphones exported from China to the US decreased by 10%, while imports of this item from India increased 5-fold, or laptops from Vietnam to the US increased 4-fold.

There is still room for growth

Mr. Nguyen Hong Duong, Deputy Director of the European - American Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) once shared that right after Vietnam - the United States upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he received many phone calls from domestic enterprises asking about opportunities and prospects for exporting goods to this market.

According to Mr. Duong, when the relationship between the two countries is upgraded, US businesses will increase investment in Vietnam, leading to companies from third countries also investing in Vietnam in many fields such as semiconductors, supporting industries, healthcare , oil and gas, energy, etc., creating room for development in the coming time. Therefore, from his perspective, Mr. Duong believes that Vietnam's exports to the US in the short term will not create a sudden effect, but in the long term will increase.

At this time, many Vietnamese and American businesses are waiting for the United States to soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy, to clear the "bottlenecks" for trade in goods, especially the fact that Vietnamese goods are easily subject to high taxes in trade defense cases.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thuong Lang assessed: "When the United States recognizes Vietnam as a market economy, it will greatly change Vietnam's role and position in the international arena, far different from when it was considered a non-market economy, causing many obstacles and barriers in trade cooperation relations as well as attracting investment."

Accordingly, a series of goods, from shrimp, wood products, to textiles, tires, etc., will have more opportunities to compete in the US market. Vietnamese goods will have their anti-dumping taxes reduced by the US.

On the other hand, US consumers also benefit more, when they have access to quality goods from Vietnam at affordable prices.

Cargill, a US animal feed producer, has been present in Vietnam since 1995. “Vietnam is an important market for Cargill. Cargill has long supported the recognition of Vietnam as a market economy, especially given the impact on key industries such as aquaculture,” said Cargill, a US animal feed producer.

In fact, Vietnam's classification as a non-market economy in recent years has led to significant anti-dumping duties on products such as pangasius and shrimp, negatively affecting Cargill's competitiveness in important markets such as the United States.

“Recognizing Vietnam as a market economy will stimulate production and services in sectors where Vietnam has export strengths, including agricultural products. This will promote greater economic cooperation between the countries,” said a Cargill representative.

It can be seen that Vietnam - US trade relations have grown dramatically since the US lifted the trade embargo against Vietnam in 1994 and the two countries resumed diplomatic relations in 1995. Nearly 30 years after normalizing relations, the US is now Vietnam's largest export market.

The International Trade Administration (US Department of Commerce) commented: “The large inflow of FDI into Vietnam in recent years has helped boost Vietnam’s economic growth. The US has also benefited from stronger trade relations. Over the past five years, Vietnam’s export revenue to the US has increased by 230%, while import value has increased by more than 175%.”

The opportunities for Vietnamese goods to enter the US are still great as the country continues to promote its strategy of diversifying supply sources and supply chains and prioritizing the ASEAN market. In particular, Vietnam has emerged as an important export production center, from processed and manufactured industrial goods to agriculture, forestry and fishery products.

The problem for Vietnamese suppliers is to keep up with the new trends of US importers and consumers, standardize production towards greening, reduce emissions in production, store export goods data to proactively provide timely and complete information in trade defense cases in the US...

Thuy Linh