Speaking at the ministry's regular press conference on July 7, Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director general of the Agency of Foreign Trade, said Vietnam recorded exports of 266.5 billion USD and imports of 283.2 billion USD in the first six months of the year, resulting in a trade deficit of about 16.7 billion USD.
Overall, total trade turnover in the first six months of 2026 stood at 549.69 billion USD, up 27.1% compared with the same period last year, of which exports rose 21% and imports increased 33.4%.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Singapore, Vietnam remained Singapore’s 10th largest trading partner in the first five months of 2026, with bilateral trade reaching 23.3 billion SGD (18.02 billion USD), up 43.4% year-on-year.
Vietnam recorded trade deficits of 1.78 billion USD in January, 1.01 billion USD in February, 680 million USD in March, 3.99 billion USD in April and 5.21 billion USD in May, bringing the cumulative deficit in the first five months of 2026 to 13.8 billion USD.
Based on bilateral trade figures from the UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database, the Philippines posted the largest trade deficit among member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 2015 to 2024.
In the first four months of 2026, Vietnam’s total import–export turnover was estimated at 344.17 billion USD, up 24.2% year on year, with exports rising 19.7% and imports climbing 28.7%, resulting in a trade deficit of 7.11 billion USD.
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's official visit to Vietnam, FDI inflows in the first four months, and the country's trade deficit recorded during the period are among news highlights last weekend.
Vietnam's total import-export turnover in April was estimated at 94.32 billion USD, up 0.8% from the previous month and 26.7% year-on-year, according to the National Statistics Office.
The Philippines' exports surged 20.4% year-on-year to 6.78 billion USD in March, marking the highest level since the Philippine Statistics Authority began compiling trade data in 1991. Meanwhile, imports rose 12.3% to 11.29 billion USD, also reaching a record high.
Previous years show that Vietnam typically runs a trade deficit in the first quarter before shifting to a surplus in the latter half of the year. The current deficit, therefore, is considered both normal and indicative of an economy “recharging” for growth.
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee called on the Government to closely monitor global developments, especially in energy markets, taxation policies and international trade, to fully assess their impacts on Vietnam’s economy. It emphasised the need to develop and regularly update macroeconomic management scenarios, clarifying their implications for growth, inflation and major economic balances.
Thailand's exports continued to be driven mainly by electronics shipments, in line with the upswing in the computer cycle and the expansion of modern technologies, including AI, which has boosted demand for manufactured goods.
Czech Industry and Trade Minister Lukáš Vlček praised the notable progress in EU-Vietnam trade relations five years after the EVFTA took effect on August 1, 2020.
While AmCham acknowledges the need to address the growing trade deficit between the two nations, it strongly urges the US administration to consider implementing a grace period.
Vietnam’s imports of computers, electronics and components in 2024 surpassed the 100 billion USD mark for the first time in history and were the highest level since 2013, according to statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
Thailand’s exports are on track to achieve a historical high of 300 billion USD this year, up 5.2% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Cashew nuts are one of the exports which have created a large market for Vietnam, however, the industry faces the risk of trade deficit due to higher raw material prices.
The import-export turnover between Vietnam and China reached nearly 130.8 billion USD in the first eight months of this year, according to the latest statistics from the General Department of Customs.
The Bank of Thailand recently backed government initiatives to address the issue of cheap Chinese products flooding the Thai market.
Vietnam ran a trade deficit in May as the import of major materials rebounded, signaling that green shoots are sprouting in domestic production, experts have said.