Vietnam

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Changes in 2019 from 2018: 

• U.S. total exports to Vietnam increased by $1.2 billion (12.5 percent) to $10.9 billion. 
• U.S. general imports from Vietnam increased by $17.5 billion (35.6 percent) to $66.7 billion. 
• U.S. merchandise trade deficit with Vietnam increased by $16.3 billion (41.3 percent) to $55.8 billion. 

 

 

U.S. total exports to Vietnam increased by $1.2 billion (12.5 percent) to $10.9 billion in 2019 (table VN.1). About half of this growth can be attributed to an increase in U.S. exports of transportation equipment, which rose by $615 million (138.8 percent) to $1.1 billion in 2019. Within transportation equipment, U.S. exports of aircraft, spacecraft, and related equipment (TE013) jumped by $567 million (257.5 percent) between 2018 and 2019, accounting for nearly all the rise in U.S. exports in this sector.  

 

 

 

Between 2015 and 2019 U.S. general imports from Vietnam grew by $28.7 billion (75.4 percent), rising by $17.5 billion (35.6 percent) to $66.7 billion in 2018–19 alone (table VN.2). This increase made Vietnam the sixth leading supplier of U.S. imports in 2019. Over half of the $17.5 billion increase was due to the growth in U.S. imports of electronic products, which nearly doubled from $12.2 billion in 2018 to $23.0 billion in 2019 for an increase of $10.8 billion (89.0 percent). The increase in U.S. imports of electronic products was driven largely by sharp rises for two subgroups: a $7.4 billion (114.4 percent) increase in telecommunications equipment (EL002) and a $1.8 billion (103.1 percent) increase in semiconductors and integrated circuits (EL015). U.S. imports of both furniture (MS009) and apparel (TX005) have continued to increase, rising by $2.1 billion (40.7 percent) and $1.4 billion (10.9 percent), respectively, in 2019. On the other hand, U.S. imports of agriculture products from Vietnam fell by $380 million (9.9 percent) to $3.5 billion in 2019, while those of energy-related products, mostly crude petroleum (EP004),[1] plunged by $70 million (98.9 percent), from $71 million in 2018 to less than $1 million in 2019.  

 

 

 

The U.S. merchandise trade deficit with Vietnam widened by $16.3 billion (41.3 percent) to $55.8 billion in 2019 (table VN.3). The near-doubling of U.S. imports of electronic products, as described above, was a key driver for the expansion of the deficit that occurred from 2018 to 2019. Growth in U.S. imports of miscellaneous manufactures and of textiles and apparel in Vietnam also contributed to the deficit, adding $2.9 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively.  A small portion of these increases was offset by the decrease in U.S. imports of energy-related products from Vietnam in 2019. Mainly due to the $278 million increase in U.S. total exports of crude petroleum, the trade balance for energy-related products moved from a trade deficit of $49 million in 2018 to a trade surplus of $329 million in 2019.