VIETNAM’S economy grew by 8 per cent in 2025, accelerating from the previous year’s pace due to robust exports despite US tariffs, preliminary government data showed yesterday, as the country posted its highest annual trade surplus with Washington.
The Southeast Asian nation, which is one of the top exporters to the United States, is still in talks with Washington over a possible trade deal but has largely shrugged off US duties of 20pc imposed on its goods by the Trump administration to cut Vietnam’s huge trade advantage.
Vietnam’s total exports rose by 17pc to about $475 billion last year, the data showed, with shipments to the United States worth $153bn, far outstripping 2024’s record figure of $119.5bn. That has led to an unprecedented trade surplus with Washington of nearly $134bn last year, far higher than the previous peak reached in 2024, according to the Vietnamese figures, which are usually more conservative than US data.
The latest trade figures available from the US statistics agency show that Vietnam’s surplus with Washington had already hit an unprecedented $129.5bn in September, higher than the $123.5bn surplus recorded for all of 2024, which was a record.
Vietnam is a key link in global supply chains for electronics, textiles, shoes and other goods. Foreign multinationals, such as Samsung, Apple and Nike, assemble their products in Vietnam, often made of components and raw materials from China, before exporting them – mostly to the US, which is Vietnam’s main market.
Vietnam’s imports of Chinese goods reached a record level last year of $186bn, the data showed, from $144.2bn in 2024.
The Trump administration has accused Vietnam of being a transshipment hub for Chinese goods exported to the United States. Illegally transshipped goods face US tariffs of 40pc, but the White House has not yet indicated its criteria to determine what can be considered as illegal transshipment.
Vietnam’s growth rate of 8.02pc last year, from 7.09pc in 2024, showed no immediate disruption from the US tariffs that were imposed from August and from widespread damage from repeated floods last year.
Last year, the government had set an annual growth target of more than 8pc. In the fourth quarter, the economy grew 8.46pc on the year, up from a revised 8.25pc in the third quarter, to post the strongest quarterly growth rate of the year.
Despite the strength of recent years, growth did not meet the ambitious yearly average target of 6.5pc-7pc set by the ruling Communist Party for the 2021-2025 period, largely due to low growth in Covid-affected 2021. For the five-year period, average annual growth stood at 6.25pc.
For the 2026-2030 period, the government is targeting annual growth of at least 10pc, according to a preliminary document expected to be endorsed at the five-yearly party congress later this month.
Last year’s growth was also backed by domestic consumption and higher government spending on infrastructure as the country tries to rebalance its growth model away from largely hinging on exports. Industrial production and retail sales both rose by 9.2pc in 2025, Monday’s data showed.
Consumer prices in December rose 3.48pc from a year earlier, and the inflation rate for 2025 was 3.31pc. Inflows of foreign investment in 2025 rose 9pc to $27.6bn, the data showed. Foreign investment pledges, which indicate the size of future inflows, were largely flat year-on-year at $38.4bn.
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