According to the General Statistics Office, in January 2025, the bilateral trade value between Vietnam and the United States reached 11.1 billion USD.
In January 2025, the United States was Vietnam’s largest export market, with an export turnover of 9.8 billion USD.
On the other hand, imports from the United States amounted to 1.3 billion USD.
Thus, Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States in the first month of the year reached 8.5 billion USD, a 3.5% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Textiles are one of the key export items to the United States.
The United States is a key market for many Vietnamese businesses aiming to boost import-export activities. In parallel, Vietnam is also attracting and receiving high-tech investment flows from the U.S., especially in areas such as microchips and semiconductors, in order to keep pace with the global technological era. Vietnam currently plays an important role in the United States’ global supply chain, while U.S. companies have made significant contributions to Vietnam’s economic transformation and development.
According to data from the General Department of Customs, in 2024, the total bilateral trade turnover between Vietnam and the United States exceeded 132 billion USD. Of this, Vietnam’s exports to the United States reached nearly 119 billion USD, an increase of 23.3% compared to the same period in 2023; imports from the United States reached 13 billion USD, up 7.3% from the same period in 2023.
By the end of 2024, Vietnam became the 8th largest trade partner and the 4th largest export market for the United States in the ASEAN region. In return, the United States was Vietnam’s second-largest trade partner and the largest export market. Vietnam’s main export items to the U.S. include footwear, wooden furniture, machinery, and optical equipment.
The Vietnam Trade Office in the United States believes that in order to increase exports to the U.S. market, domestic enterprises should cooperate with U.S. importers and distributors to study flexible payment methods, share risks, and especially support the early stages of market entry. For agricultural products and food items, businesses should consider linking up or investing in cold storage facilities to establish Vietnam’s distribution centers at ports on a sufficiently large scale to serve various product groups. This would help reduce costs and provide businesses with a more proactive stance in bringing goods to market.
Additionally, export growth to the U.S. requires Vietnamese businesses to pay more attention to compliance with trade regulations, in order to avoid the risk of being investigated, sued, or subjected to trade defense measures, tax evasion, or other restrictions that the U.S. may impose to support domestic production.
In agreement, Dr. Nguyễn Minh Phong – an economic expert – shared with Báo Công Thương that Vietnamese enterprises must pay particular attention to the early warning activities conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in recent times to minimize the risk of goods being subject to trade defense measures in this market. At the same time, authorities need to conduct thorough checks to prevent the illegal transshipment of goods into Vietnam to falsify the origin of products.
Source: congthuong.vn
