Vietnam - US trade exceeds US$50 billion in first half

Of the figure, Vietnamese exports to the US enjoyed a surge of 44.7% to US$45.58 billion compared to the same period from last year, accounting for 28.8% of the country's total export turnover.

Garments were the country’s key export item, raking in US$7.61 billion, up 23.1% year on year, or making up 49.7% of the country’s total garment exports.

Furthermore, the US also imported phones, computers, agricultural products, shoes, wooden furniture and seafood products from Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the initial six months of the year saw Vietnamese imports from the US surge by 9% year on year, reaching US$7.63 billion, or accounting for 4.8% of the country's import turnover.

The US remains Vietnam’s largest import market in the Americas region, with key import items including computers, electronic products and components, cotton, soybeans, scrap iron, and steel.

Throughout the 2016 to 2020 period, Vietnamese export turnover to the US witnessed a rapid increase of 230%, while exports from the US to Vietnam grew by more than 175%.

The US has developed into the largest export market for Vietnamese products, while Vietnam is the 10th largest trading partner of the US.

Experts note that there remains plenty of room to increase bilateral trade turnover as the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently issued a formal conclusion of the investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act concerning the valuation of Vietnamese currency.

Under an agreement on the matter reached between the US Department of the Treasury and the State Bank of Vietnam, the USTR will not take any trade action against Vietnam.

As Chairman of the Vietnam Sub-committee of the Vietnam-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has co-ordinated with various Vietnamese ministries and agencies to promote policy dialogue between the two sides, bringing about substantive results and helping increase bilateral trade.