Vietnam-US Trade Surplus Rises As China Imports Peak

Vietnam's trade surplus with the US rose by nearly 30% in January compared to last year, driven by strong export growth, while imports from China reached a new peak, according to official data released on Friday.

Honai has been holding talks with Washington for several months regarding a possible trade deal. This happened after Trump imposed 20% tariff on Vietnam’s products in August and warned to put a higher tariff on goods largely made with components imported from China. Despite this, Vietnam's exports to the US continued to grow, reaching an all-time high last year.

In January, exports to the US totalled  $13.9 billion. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, this was up from $10.5 billion in the same month last year. On the other hand, in December exports to the US totalled $14.6 billion.

Vietnam's trade surplus with the US was $ 12 billion, almost 30% higher than in January last year and only slightly below the $12.3 billion recorded in December.

Imports from China rose to a monthly record of $19 billion, compared with $18.7 billion in December and $12 billion in January 2025. Overall, Vietnam’s exports increased 29.7% year on year to $43.19 billion in January, while industrial output grew by 21.5%.

Imports during the month jumped 49.2% from a year earlier to $44.97 billion, leading to a trade deficit of $1.78 billion. Consumer prices rose 2.53% year over year, and retail sales increased 9.3% year over year.

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Foreign investment inflows reached $1.68 billion in January, an 11.3% increase from last year. However, investment pledges, which signal future inflows, fell 40.6% to $2.58 billion, according to the data.

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