Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) plans totighten control on goods whose imports are discouraged and facilitate localmanufacturing to reduce the country’s trade deficit.

Statistics from the ministry showed that Vietnam exported about 79.3 billionUSD worth of commodities in the first five months of 2017, an increase of 17.4percent from the same period last year.

According to the MoIT’s Import-Export Department, the US remained the country’slargest buyer, followed by the European Union, China, ASEAN, Japan and theRepublic of Korea.

The department said the country’s import-export activities showed encouragingsigns, as it has maintained the growth rate in its export turnover. The tradedeficit was reduced from 2.74 billion USD in the first four months of the yearto 2.7 billion USD in the five-month period. The reducing trade deficit shows thatthe country’s efforts to ensure trade balance are proving to be effective.

It added that Vietnam’s export turnover has not only seen high growth in itstraditional markets but the turnover has also been stable in countries withwhich it has common borders.

Le Bien Cuong, deputy director of the ministry’s Mountainous and Frontier TradeDepartment, said that in the first five months of the year, trade activitiesbetween Vietnam and countries with which it has common borders, especiallyChina, has seen high growth rate.

However, there are rising concerns that continuous trade deficit for monthsmight harm the economy. In addition to export growth, local firms’ imports ofmaterials for production were also increased.

Thai Van Thi, director of Phu Tai Concrete Company, said they have beencontinuously importing materials for concrete production and investing inmachines due to a large number of orders.

Thi said the company’s imports of machines and materials for production in thefirst five months of the year rose by 50 percent from the same period lastyear.

Many economists believed the trade deficit was still within an acceptablelevel, and it is normal for a developing economy such as Vietnam, which isintegrating more deeply into the global trade and joining free trade agreements.Furthermore, domestic production has rebounded, motivating imports.

However, the ministry will use trade remedies against several imported goods toencourage consumption of made-in-Vietnam products to limit imports. Especially,it will continue to diversify exported products and markets to avoid muchdependence on certain markets.-VNA