Many opportunities for trade and investment attraction
Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States for his second term in the White House after four years is opening up many opportunities and challenges for Vietnam in the context of the country’s proactive and positive foreign policy. One of the biggest opportunities is in economics and trade, as Vietnam aims to become an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income industrial country by 2045.
Vietnam has the potential to attract investment from the US in important areas such as high technology, renewable energy and agricultural products. In particular, Vietnam needs to develop the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industries. Many leading US technology corporations such as Intel and NVIDIA are present in Vietnam, which will promote technology transfer.
Increase exports of Vietnam's comparative advantage products such as phones, textiles, seafood, and wooden furniture. The US's per capita income is about 17 times that of Vietnam, with high purchasing power and high consumer demand, so the import capacity will be very large. Vietnam is not a country subject to high tariffs from the US, so this is a favorable condition to promote large-scale exports to the US when goods from other partners are subject to tariffs of 25%, even 60% or higher from February 2025.
The total import-export turnover between the two countries reached more than 100 billion USD. The US is also among the top 10 largest direct investors in Vietnam, with Vietnamese enterprises investing billions of USD in the US... Vietnam's emphasis on innovation with Resolution 57 issued from the end of 2024 is a signal for the US to expand cooperation in depth and substance.
Vietnam also has great opportunities to receive technology transfer from US partners or US allies in the fields of manufacturing and energy.
As political trust is strengthened and trade and investment cooperation is comprehensive, Vietnam will expand technology transfer through the supply chain of key products using advanced technology from the US and its allies. Vietnamese enterprises will have the opportunity to learn, develop technology and take advantage of leading experts from the US with effective mechanisms.
Challenges that may be faced
Along with opportunities, Vietnam will also face some challenges. First is the risk from trade protectionism. The US may apply measures such as import tariffs to protect domestic industries. This requires Vietnam to have quick and effective response solutions. Focusing on the development of cooperation projects and increasing direct investment in the US can be the solution to minimize negative impacts.
Another challenge is the pressure to maintain the stability of the supply chain. When the US adjusts the supply chain out of China, this chain may move to other countries in Asia such as ASEAN, India or countries from other continents. Therefore, the competition to obtain this supply chain, especially the supply chain of high-tech products, core technology, strategic technology between countries in and outside the region will be very large, the cost of attraction will increase and the opportunity cost will increase, creating great pressure on support measures from policies and business costs.
Accordingly, it is necessary to closely monitor the shift and coordinate closely between the Government, businesses and US partners to adapt quickly and effectively. At the same time, it is necessary to accumulate internal resources, increase resilience and diversify partners to minimize risks from the volatile regional and international environment.
