Vietnamese handicrafts on display at a trade fair in Milan, Italy. (Photo: VNA) The Southeast Asian economy's trade surplus, however, remainedpositive at 125 billion USD this year, including 33 billion USD with the EU and92 billion USD with the US.
"With a large open economy, Vietnam's import-exportactivities are directly affected by the global economic downturn in the firsthalf of 2023 and the slow and uneven recovery of world economies in the secondhalf of 2023," said Ta Hoang Linh, Director of the European and AmericanMarket Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
In the first 10 months of 2023, the EU reduced its imports fromnon-EU markets by nearly 16%, and the US reduced its imports from foreignmarkets by 6%. Despite inflation being somewhat contained, it remained high,coupled with pressures from geopolitical instability, and profound changes inbehaviour and consumption habits in the EU and the US, making it challenging tosustain a high level of import, according to a recent report by the IMF.
Vietnam's export turnover to the EU and US saw a sharp decrease withexports to the EU reaching 43.7 billion USD, a 6.7% decrease year-on-year,while exports to the US reaching 96.9 billion USD, a 12.4% decreaseyear-on-year. Only exports to the UK, countries in the Eurasian Economic Union(EAEU), countries in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and some smaller markets witnessedgrowth of 3.1%, 12.7%, and 10%, respectively.
Major export items, including machinery, equipment, spare parts;phones, computers, and components; computers, electronic products, andcomponents; textiles; leather shoes and bags; wood and wood products; andseafood, have all seen an average decrease of over 10% compared to 2022.
Meanwhile, some other items have seen good growth includingcameras, camcorders, and components increased by 27%; various types of iron andsteel increased by 23.5%. Particularly, some agricultural products such as riceincreased by 53.3%; cashews increased by 10.2%; fruits and vegetables increasedby 10.2%.
While trade has been slowing down, thanks to effective FTAs withEuropean and American market partners, including the EVFTA, CPTPP, and UKFTA,the positive impact continues, maintaining Vietnam's advantages in trade andinvestment activities in 2024.
Regarding trade promotion, Tran Thu Quynh, Vietnamese Commercial Counsellorin Canada, said that among CPTPP member countries, Vietnam had very goodleverage to accelerate the export of goods to Canada with the estimated exportto Canada in 2023 at over 5.7 billion USD.
Linh said that the European and American Market Department wouldclosely monitor the market, and promptly grasp information about the economic,political, and policy situation in the region and globally affecting trade withVietnam. This would enable early warnings to the business community and providepolicy recommendations to the government for appropriate responses./.
VNA
