Vietnam's trade surplus with US hits record as exports surge despite tariffs

 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 (Dec 6), as exports surged despite US tariffs imposed in August.

The Southeast Asian nation is still in talks for a trade deal with Washington but has so far largely shrugged off the US' 20 per cent duties on its goods, which the Trump administration imposed to cut its huge trade gap with the country.

Exports to the US rose year-on-year by 22.5 per cent in November, outpacing shipments to the rest of the world, which increased by 15.1 per cent, 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.

However, month-on-month, Vietnam's November exports fell 7.1 per cent to $39.07 billion, and shipments to the US went down by 7.3 per cent after a decline of 2.2 per cent in October. November was the fourth consecutive month that month-on-month exports to the US have fallen.

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 in November recorded an overall trade surplus of $1.09 billion, down from $2.6 billion in October.

For the first 11 months of this year, exports rose 16.1 per cent to $430.14 billion, while imports were up 18.4 per cent to $409.61 billion.

That resulted in a trade surplus of $20.53 billion, driven by 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 per cent year-on-year to $104.3 billion.

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

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/vietnams-trade-surplus-us-hits-record-exports-surge-despite-tariffs-5565116