In the past two years, as the United States has been disrupting the global trade environment and deteriorating the global trade environment, Vietnam, a Southeast Asian country, has unexpectedly become the “biggest beneficiary.”
Data previously released by the National Bureau of Statistics of Vietnam show that in the first 11 months of this year, Vietnam’s total import and export volume increased by 3.5% year-on-year to US$489.1 billion, of which export volume increased by 5.3% year-on-year. Import volume increased by 1.5% year-on-year.
The main driving force for the country’s export trade growth is undoubtedly the strong demand from the US market. Data show that in the first 11 months of this year, the United States has become the country’s largest export market, and Vietnam’s exports to the United States surged nearly 26% year-on-year to US$69.9 billion (approximately 457.5 billion yuan).
Strong foreign exports are undoubtedly of great significance to Vietnam’s economic recovery. Data show that Vietnam’s GDP growth rate was 2.12% in the first three quarters of this year. This growth rate is remarkable at a time when most economies around the world have failed to escape negative growth.
However, Vietnam has recently received a big piece of bad news – its products are likely to become the “next target” of the United States. According to Vietnamese media reports on December 8, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that it will launch a “301 investigation” into Vietnam’s textiles, clothing and footwear. Reports believe that this will have a negative impact on Vietnam’s exports to the United States.
It is reported that the Vietnam Association of Associations, including the Textile Association and the Footwear Association, has written to the Vietnamese government to seek help regarding this “emergency situation” because the United States’ move will Opening the door to its imposition of punitive tariffs on Vietnamese products. In addition, the Vietnam Association Alliance also communicates with the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the American Footwear Retail Distribution Association (FDRA).
Both AAFA and FDRA have also issued recommendations to the USTR, hoping that it can take prudent actions to avoid supply chain disruptions. Nonetheless, judging from the previous actions of the United States, it may be very difficult to get the country to give up imposing tariffs on Vietnamese products. The report pointed out that the US investigation hearing will be held on December 29. </p
