Vietnam becomes largest Southeast Asian exporters to US on back of textiles

Surpassing Malaysia and Thailand, Vietnam has become the largest exporter to the United States in the Southeast Asian region with a record trade surplus of almost US$25 billion (S$34 billion) in 2014. According to the US Census Bureau data, trade between the two countries reached US$36.3 billion, of which, Vietnam exported US$30.6 billion worth of goods to the US while it imported goods worth only US$5.7 billion. In 2014, exports were up 24 per cent while imports increased 13.6 per cent compared with the previous year.

Garment and textile exports was the major contributor in the Vietnam climbing to the top with export valued at US$10 billion, accounting for one-third of the its total export value. Vietnam’s textile also raised its market share in the US to 9.26 per cent.

Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of US$24.9 billion with the US ending 2014, the unprecedented value since the two countries normalised their relations. This is also higher than the previous forecast of a trade surplus of US$23.9 billion by the American Chamber of Commerce in Viet Nam (AmCham). In October, AmCham forecast the two-way trade revenue to reach US$34.9 billion in 2014, including US$29.4 billion from Vietnam’s exports to the US.

The United States’ reported statistics are also larger than the figures released by the Viet Nam’s General Department of Customs. According to the customs department, Viet Nam shipped nearly US$28.7 billion worth of goods to the US and imported US$6.3 billion from this country, registering a trade surplus of US$22.4 billion.