Defying tariffs, Vietnam’s exports to the U.S. surge to a record trade surplus

Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States, its main market, rose to $121.6 billion in the first 11 months of the year, official data showed on Saturday, as exports surged despite US import tariffs imposed in August on Vietnamese goods.

The Southeast Asian nation is still in talks on a trade deal with Washington but has so far largely shrugged off US duties of 20 percent imposed on its goods by the Trump administration to cut Vietnam’s huge trade advantage.

Exports to the United States rose year-on-year by 22.5 percent in November, outpacing shipments to the rest of the world, which increased by 15.1 percent, according to Vietnam’s statistics agency.

The surge in exports to the US translated into a record trade surplus, which in the January-November period already far exceeds the reading for all of 2024, when it hit $104.5 billion, according to Vietnamese data that is usually more conservative than US figures.

The latest US customs data is for August.

Month-on-month, however, Vietnam’s November exports fell 7.1 percent to about $39 billion, and shipments to the United States went down by 7.3 percent after a decline of 2.2 percent in October.

November was the fourth consecutive month that month-on-month exports to the US have fallen.

Growth in Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States also slowed to $10.6 billion in November from $11.8 billion in October.

In a sign of how dependent the country is on its exports to the United States, its overall trade surplus was $1.09 billion in November, down from $2.6 billion in October.

Vietnam said last month it was working to sign a trade agreement with the US soon, after the two countries in October said they had agreed to a framework for the deal.

Vietnam’s trade deficit with China grows

For the first 11 months of this year, Vietnam recorded a total trade surplus of $20.53 billion – mostly on a positive balance with the United States, the European Union and Japan – which more than offset deficits with China and South Korea.

The trade deficit with China in the January-November period rose 38.1 percent year-on-year to $104.3 billion.

Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang on Saturday said foreign investment inflows in the January-November period rose 8.9 percent from a year earlier to $23.6 billion, while pledges were up 7.4 percent.

However, he noted the country was facing increasing economic challenges, including from US tariffs and the impact of widespread flooding in recent months.

Separately, consumer prices in November rose 3.58 percent from a year earlier, data from the statistics agency showed, while industrial production climbed 10.8 percent.

 

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