Business

Vietnam urged to adapt as global trade shifts: seminar

Both local authorities and business community are diversifying markets, products, and supply chains; while improving product quality and competitiveness. They are also capitalising on free trade agreements to sustain export and import competitiveness.

At the seminar (Photo: baomoi.com)
At the seminar (Photo: baomoi.com)

HCM City (VNA) – Global trade fluctuations are pushing Vietnamese firms to transform production and bolster internal capabilities, according to experts at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 3.

The event, co-hosted by the city's Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), the Institute for Vietnam Initiatives (IVI), and the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), focused on navigating evolving trade and digital technology trends.

ITPC Deputy Director Cao Thi Phi Van highlighted the urgency for Vietnamese firms to adapt amid global economic turbulence, including US reciprocal tariffs, supply chain disruptions, and rising protectionism.

The US remains Vietnam’s largest export market, with trade surplus growing from around 63.4 billion USD in 2020 to nearly 106 billion USD in 2024. However, Van said, the specter of US tariffs looms large, prompting calls for strategic responses.

She outlined key measures, including leveraging Vietnam’s domestic market, tightening oversight of product origins, supporting Vietnamese and US investment projects, and accelerating the signing of trade deals with the US.

According to her, both local authorities and business community are diversifying markets, products, and supply chains; while improving product quality and competitiveness. They are also capitalising on free trade agreements to sustain export and import competitiveness.

Vu Tu Thanh, Deputy Regional Managing Director for ASEAN at the USABC, noted that Vietnam’s major exports, such as apparel, footwear, wood and agricultural goods, do not directly compete with US products or jobs. While tariff negotiations remain unresolved, he expressed optimism that final US tariff rates on these goods could be moderated.

IVI Director Duong Hong Loan proposed a digital transformation strategy, focusing on creating a digital capability framework, designing staff training courses, fostering a culture of continuous learning within businesses, and providing specialised technology training. She pointed to a partnership between HCM City, the British University Vietnam, and major tech firms as a model for advancing digital skills./.

VNA
#Vietnamese firms #nvestment and Trade Promotion Centre Vietnam
Follow VietnamPlus

Related News

Vietnam to diversify markets for agricultural products amid global trade shifts. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam to diversify markets for agricultural products amid global trade shifts

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), Vietnam’s agricultural product exports are inevitably affected by disruptions in global supply chains and the imposition of unilateral, stringent tariff policies by major economies. Nonetheless, these challenges also present an opportunity for Vietnam to adjust its export strategy and focus more intently on emerging and high-potential markets.

See more

Students practice microcontroller programming at the Vietnam-Korea College of Technology in Bac Ninh province (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam – one of most attractive destinations for leading US semiconductor companies: expert

Vietnam has built a solid semiconductor and electronics industry before joining ITSI, attracting major US semiconductor companies. Intel Products Vietnam is one of Intel's largest assembly and testing facilities worldwide, while chip design companies such as Synopsys, Cadence, Marvell and Qualcomm have established engineering and research centres in the Southeast Asian country.

Lawmakers on August 9 discuss a draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and the Law on Credit Institutions. (Photo: VNA)

Lawmakers discuss measures to ensure banking system safety, support digital economy

The draft law sets out provisions to control conflicts of interest when commercial banks act as agents managing collateral for corporate bonds. In this regard, Deputy Le Van The of Ninh Binh province said he supported the move, noting that it could provide a more professional approach to collateral management and help strengthen investor confidence if properly regulated.

A company in Da Nang operates a customer relationship management system supported by AI chatbots. (Photo: VNA)

AI drives rise of sleepless enterprises in Vietnam

The concept of a sleepless enterprise does not necessarily mean making employees stay on the job all the time. Instead, it's about building intelligent systems that can respond to customers, process transactions, monitor operations, analyse data and flag risks continuously.

Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia Tran Thi Thanh My (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Australia eye 20 bln USD trade target

The head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Australia hoped that the visit by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam will mark a new milestone, opening the door for firms on both sides to forge stronger links and launch concrete cooperation agendas, helping hit that 20 billion USD trade goal sooner rather than later.

Phu Quoc pepper products, granted three stars under the OCOP programme in An Giang province, are displayed at an exhibition of outstanding OCOP products from the Mekong Delta. (Photo: VNA)

Phu Quoc leverages OCOP programme to take local specialities global

Better known as one of Vietnam’s premier island destinations, Phu Quoc is leveraging its “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme to transform traditional specialities into internationally recognised products, integrating local agriculture, food processing and tourism to promote sustainable economic growth.

Production at an FDI enterprise in Tay Ninh province. (Photo: VNA)

FTA Index 2025 to be unveiled later this month

The index is designed to provide valuable information not only for State management agencies but also as an important reference for businesses, foreign investors, and industry associations in planning investment and business activities in Vietnam.

Air Premia, a carrier of the Republic of Korea, will resume flights between Incheon and Ho Chi Minh City from November 5. (Photo: The Courtesy of Air Premia)

Air Premia to resume Incheon–Ho Chi Minh City route from November

Flights will depart Incheon International Airport at 6:40 pm (RoK time) and arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at 11 pm (Vietnam time). Return flights will leave Ho Chi Minh City at 12:30 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, landing in Incheon at 7:40 am.

Production at Viet Hai High-Tech Structure Production Company Limited in Vung Ang Economic Zone. Ha Tinh province aims to develop Vung Ang Economic Zone into a regional centre for industry, energy, seaports and logistics (Photo: VNA)

Revised master plan of Vung Ang EZ approved

The adjustment aims to create a more rational development framework to maximise the zone’s potential and advantages while providing a legal foundation for construction management and ensuring sustainable development.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam looks to domestic market to sustain wood industry growth

Vietnam’s wood sector has long been a top foreign-currency earner. Exports of wood and wooden products neared 17.3 billion USD in 2025, reaching more than 160 countries and territories and clearing the high bars set by the US, the European Union and Japan.

Delegates at the event (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam remains key market for Polish food producers

The campaign promotes selected European Union agricultural and food products, including fresh, chilled and frozen beef and pork, fresh apples, apple juice and dried apples, targeting consumers, importers, distributors, retailers and the hospitality sector.

Wei Xiaoli, a representative of Shandong Jindafeng Machinery Co., Ltd., in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency. (Photo: VNA)

Chinese firms see strong potential for agricultural mechanisation cooperation with Vietnam

Business representatives said mechanisation not only helps reduce reliance on manual labour but also improves production efficiency, shortens planting and harvesting times, reduces post-harvest losses and enhances the quality of agricultural products. For rice-producing countries like Vietnam, they noted, accelerating mechanisation is an inevitable trend to strengthen the competitiveness of the agricultural sector.