TRADE SURPLUS WITH U.S. HITS US$24 BILLION IN JAN-SEPT

Vietnam had posted a trade surplus of around US$24.1 billion with the U.S. in the year to end-September, making up 78% of its exports to the world’s largest  economy, according to latest data by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In September alone, Vietnam shipped US$3.62 billion worth of products stateside, taking the total export revenue in January-September to nearly US$31 billion, up 9.4% year-on-year.

In the nine-month period, there were eight groups of commodities that brought export revenues of more than US$1 billion each. Garment and textile products fetched the highest, US$9.25 billion, growing 9.5% over the year-ago period and accounting for nearly 30% of its shipments to the U.S.

The footwear sector came second with US3.76 billion, up 13.7% versus the same period last year and accounting for 12% of its exports to the U.S.

The nine-month period also saw U.S.-bound shipments of wood and wooden products increasing 18.8% year-on-year to US$2.36 billion. Similarly, export earnings from computers, electronic products and accessories to the U.S. grew 12.5% to US$2.41 billion in the first nine months.

For years on end, the U.S. has been the largest importer of Vietnamese products, and a market that Vietnam had the biggest trade surplus with, said the customs.

Last year, Vietnam exported US$38.45 billion worth of products to the U.S., up 14.9% over 2015 and accounting for 21.8% of the country’s total export revenue. However, the number remained modest compared to the total value of U.S. imports from other countries worldwide.

According to data of the United Nations Statistics Division, the U.S. spent US$2.45 trillion buying products from other countries and territories in the world, meaning Vietnam’s exports stateside account for a mere 2% of this huge market’s imports.

Source: The Saigon Times