Vietnam's trade value hits US$700 billion for first time

By noon December 15, Vietnam's import-export value reached more than US$700 billion, the General Department of Vietnam Customs announced.

Experts attributed the good result to Vietnam's efforts in joining and implementing many new generation free trade agreements over the past five years. The country has continuously made strong strides in the import and export of goods in terms of scale and growth in recent years.

In 2007, after Vietnam officially joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), its total import-export value hit US$100 billion. Four years later, this figure doubled, reaching US$200 billion.

The country's foreign trade exceeded US$400 billion in 2017 and US$600 billion last year.

"Over the past five years, Vietnam's import and export turnover has increased by 1.5 times, and the tax collected from import and export activities has increased by 1.4 times. Notably, the tax collected in 2022 has increased by more than 10% compared to 2021. This revenue has greatly contributed to the economy's big balances and support business activities", said Mai Xuan Thanh, deputy general director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In 2022, Vietnam was ranked 23rd by the World Trade Organization in terms of goods exports and 20th in terms of imports. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam's import-export value came in second, only after Singapore. With the 2022 trade value at a record high, the country's ranking is projected to be higher on a global scale.

The enforcement of a range of free trade agreements over the years has created a favourable environment for businesses to promote import and export activities. The export turnover higher than the import turnover has also helped Vietnam produce a trade surplus of more than US$9.2 billion, 2.3 times higher than the whole of last year.

The high trade growth shows Vietnam has stabilized its macroeconomy, maintained business production and promoted investment attraction, creating the prerequisite for the economy to sustain its growth momentum next year.

(Source: VOV)