Vietnam produces world's largest trade surplus with US, Jan data shows

 Vietnam produced the largest trade surplus with the United States in January, overtaking both Mexico and China, latest official US data shows, as its exports rose sharply while Chinese direct shipments to the United States fell.

Hanoi has been negotiating a trade deal with Washington for months but no agreement has been reached because of the large trade gap and disagreements over tariff rates the US wants to impose on Vietnamese goods, officials have said.

In January, Vietnam’s trade surplus with the United States reached US$19 billion, according to US official data released on Thursday. It was the biggest dollar surplus for all US trading partners.

Vietnam’s exports to the US rose 53 per cent to exceed US$20 billion in January from a year earlier, the data ‌shows, while US imports from China in the same period dropped by 46 per cent.

Workers stitch garments at a factory in Vietnam’s Thai Nguyen province. Photo: AFP

Vietnam’s trade surplus with the US has surpassed China’s since the second quarter of 2025 and was second only to Mexico in the last three quarters. It reached US$178 billion for all of 2025.

The country’s exports to the United States have been rising steadily as higher tariffs on Chinese goods discouraged Beijing’s exports. At the same time, Vietnam’s imports of Chinese goods, largely for re-export, reached record levels in January, according to Vietnamese data.

Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly accused Vietnam of being a waypoint for Chinese goods directed to the US, which face lower duties when carrying a “Made in Vietnam” label.

Illegally transshipped goods are subject to US tariffs of 40 per cent, but the White House has not yet indicated its criteria to determine what can be considered an illegal transshipment.

It has, however, launched new investigations on Vietnam and other countries over possible unfair trade practices this week.

Washington imposed 20 per cent tariffs on Vietnamese goods in August. After the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs as illegal last month, the White House imposed a 10 per cent global tariff for 150 days.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3346477/vietnam-records-world-highest-trade-surplus-us-surpassing-mexico-china