Trade balance continues to have a trade surplus of 16.8 billion USD
In the context of slow global economic growth, prolonged geopolitical conflicts and increased trade protectionism, Vietnam's import and export of goods still maintained an impressive recovery momentum, becoming one of the outstanding bright spots of the economy.
According to data from the Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance), the total import-export turnover in the first 9 months of 2025 is estimated to reach 680.7 billion USD, an increase of 17.3% over the same period last year. Of which, exports reached 348.7 billion USD, up 16.0% and imports reached 331.9 billion USD, up 18.8%. The trade balance maintains a trade surplus of 16.8 billion USD, contributing to strengthening macroeconomic stability and national foreign exchange reserves.
In an interview with Lao Dong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong - Director of the Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance) assessed - data for the first 9 months of the year shows that the structure of exported goods continues to shift positively towards increasing the proportion of processed and manufactured industrial goods. There were 32 items with a turnover of over 1 billion USD, accounting for 93.1% of total export turnover, of which 7 items reached over 10 billion USD, accounting for 67.9%. Import structure shows the trend of production recovery. The group of manufacturing documents accounts for 93.8% of total import turnover, demonstrating that businesses are boosting investment, innovating technology, increasing imports of raw materials, machinery and equipment for production.
This development reflects the economic recovery in the direction of production - export, in which the processing and manufacturing industry continues to be the main growth driver of imports and the entire economy - Ms. Huong emphasized.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Vietnam's import-export market continues to expand and diversify with increased turnover in many key markets such as the United States, the EU, South Korea, Japan, China and ASEAN. The effective implementation of new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) has helped Vietnamese goods improve competitiveness and maintain a high growth rate in the context of global difficulties.
The import-export results in the first 9 months of 2025 not only affirm the flexible adaptability of Vietnamese enterprises, but also demonstrate the effectiveness of the open-minded and deeply integrated policies, contributing to promoting GDP growth and strengthening the country's foreign economic position. In the context of slow global economic growth, prolonged geopolitical conflicts and increased trade protectionism, Vietnam's import and export of goods still maintained an impressive recovery momentum, becoming one of the bright spots of the economy" - Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong assessed.
Actively negotiating Free Trade Agreements
To achieve the economic growth target of 8.3 to 8.5% according to the Resolution of the National Assembly and the Government, the import-export growth target needs to reach about 12%, which is 1.5 times the economic growth rate.
Mr. Nguyen Anh Son - Director of the Import-Export Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) predicted that the total import-export turnover in 2025 could reach about 900 billion USD and the surplus will exceed 20 billion USD.
The situation in the last 3 months of the year is forecast to face many challenges due to instability from the world, inflation and increasing technical barriers from import markets. Therefore, in the last three months of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been implementing many solutions to promote exports" - Mr. Nguyen Anh Son said.
To connect the market, Mr. Nguyen Anh Son said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed Vietnamese foreign dealers to strengthen connections and support export activities for businesses. At the same time, focus on removing difficulties and barriers that foreign partners are applying to Vietnamese export goods.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also actively negotiating new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) such as the agreement between Vietnam and Pakistan, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and countries in the South American Common Market ( Mercosur) - Mr. Nguyen Anh Son informed.
According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Son, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is stepping up decentralization of the issuance of Certificates of Origin (C/O), a practical solution implemented according to Decree 146/2025/ND-CP regulating decentralization and delegation in the industrial and commercial sector. Accordingly, the decentralization of the issuance of Certificates of Origin of goods from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to the provinces has been carried out since July 1, 2025. The provinces are currently authorized to issue 31 types of Certificates of Origin.
