HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States grew in January by nearly 30% year on year as exports climbed, while imports from China hit a new monthly high, official data released on Friday showed.
Hanoi has been in talks for months with Washington over a possible trade agreement after the Trump administration imposed 20% tariffs on Vietnamese goods in August and threatened higher duties on goods made mostly from components that Vietnam imports from China.
Despite the higher tariffs, Vietnamese exports to the United States have continued to rise and reached a record high last year.
In January the trend continued with shipments reaching a value of $13.9 billion, according to Vietnam's statistics office, up from $10.5 billion a year earlier. In December exports to the United States amounted to $14.6 billion.
The surplus with Washington was $12 billion in January, nearly 30% higher than a year earlier, and only slightly lower than the $12.3 billion in December.
Imports from China reached a monthly record, climbing to $19 billion from $18.7 billion in December and $12 billion in January 2025.
In total, Vietnam's exports in January rose 29.7% from a year earlier to $43.19 billion, with industrial production also up by 21.5%, the data showed.
Imports over the month soared 49.2% from a year earlier to $44.97 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.78 billion.
Consumer prices in the month rose 2.53% from a year earlier, while retail sales were up 9.3% year on year.
Foreign investment inflows in the month reached $1.68 billion, up 11.3% year on year. However, investment pledges, which indicate future inflows, fell in January 40.6% from a year earlier to $2.58 billion, the data showed.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu, Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by David Stanway) -- Reuters
