2023 – opportunities and challenges intertwined in the Vietnamese export industry

2023 is a year of mixed opportunities and challenges in Vietnam’s export industry.

Trade surplus for the 7th year in a row
Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh assessed when looking back at trade activities in 2022 as follows: Vietnam still maintained a high growth rate, Vietnam’s total export turnover reached over US$732.5 billion, an increase of 10.6% compared to 2021. This figure shows that our country has overcome difficulties and effectively implemented solutions in the industry.
Vietnam’s export activities to new markets under the FTA – Free Trade Agreement have all grown by over 23%, even in some markets, by over 30%, much higher than the general export growth rate.
The types of products that are exported to Vietnam the most are: fresh vegetables, processed vegetables, rice, seafood… because we have well exploited opportunities in new FTA markets.
According to a market survey, Vietnam’s merchandise exports to major countries such as the US, EU and UK increased by over 10.6%, reaching about $371.5 billion, exceeding the planned targets assigned by the National Assembly and the Government.
More than 39 items with export turnover of over 1 billion USD, an increase of 4 items compared to 2021, of which 9 items achieved export turnover of over 10 billion USD, more than 1 item compared to 2021.
The trade balance continued to record a trade surplus for the 7th consecutive year with a surplus of 11.2 billion USD, making a positive contribution to the balance of payments of the general economy. The structure of goods exported continuously has been improving in a positive direction, while reducing crude oil content, increasing processed and industrial products.
To explain that success, Mr. Tran Quoc Khanh said that the growth results in Vietnam’s export industry in 2022 are due to the best efforts of the Government, Ministries, Departments at all levels. Implement many solutions to boost the economy and support businesses.
At the same time, it is the initiative and flexibility in the production organization of the exporting enterprises to seize the opportunities to recover and the scarcity of goods from the import markets, effectively exploiting the FTAs.
On the other hand, this success is also attributed to the contribution of tax and customs administrative procedures to create maximum profits and open up trade flows with the markets of China, Korea, and the United States…
Opportunities for Vietnam’s export industry in 2023
According to Mr. Le Trieu Dung – Director of the Trade Remedies Department, there are many great opportunities in the Vietnamese export industry right now because we always comply and meet strict requirements when checking before exporting.
Based on the capacity, Vietnam’s export goods become the subject of trade remedies.
In November 2022, Vietnam joined with the response to trade remedy cases, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade handled 5 dispute settlement cases at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In which, 3 cases have ended and brought positive results for Vietnam, including: lawsuit against US shrimp anti-dumping measures; initiate a safeguard measure against Indonesian cold-rolled steel products. Basically, the conclusions of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body are in favor of Vietnamese businesses.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has also initiated and investigated many trade remedy cases. It is also thanks to this application measure that has created an opportunity to help us comply with international commitments.
Furthermore, domestic industries are protected against unfair competition practices. Thereby creating conditions for domestic manufacturing industries to develop, creating more jobs and added value for the economy.
Challenges for Vietnam’s export industry in 2023
Despite achieving many of these opportunities, Vietnam’s export industry entering 2023 still faces many challenges such as:
The market still faces many fluctuations and difficulties. Therefore, to achieve the growth target in textile and garment exports, it is necessary to continue to take advantage of the free trade agreement (FTA) to open the “door” for the textile and garment industry….
Moreover, it is necessary to maintain market share in a large market like the United States, taking advantage of incentives from EVFTA. With the EVFTA Agreement, 100% of Vietnam’s textile and garment products will be reduced to 0% import tax after up to 7 years from the date of entry into force of the agreement.
Another challenge is that tariffs and tariff quotas for the import-export industry are too high. So for the textile and garment solution, the EU will eliminate tariffs with 77.3% of Vietnam’s export turnover after 5 years and the remaining 22.7% of the turnover will be eliminated after 7 years.
Through the information we shared above, readers must have seen that besides the challenges posed in the export industry in Vietnam, we also have many opportunities to take advantage of further development in this industry.