Vietnam posted strong growth in trade in the first two months of this year, with trade surplus at a multi-year high. However, this development reveals issues that need special attention. Strong growth Building on the recovery momentum from the fourth quarter of 2023, Vietnam’s trade has grown strongly since the beginning of this year, with the total value of imports and exports in the first two months of this year soaring by 18.6% year-on-year to US$113.96 billion. Especially, the country recorded a trade surplus of US$4.72 billion in January-February, the highest same-period level in 10 years. In the first two months of 2023, the total import-export value reached only US$96.1 billion, a decrease of 13.3% year-on-year, but the country still earned a trade surplus of US$3.5 billion thanks to import expenditures falling steeper than export earnings, at 16.7% and 9.9%, respectively. As such, one can see how positive the results are for the first two months of this year. This is a bright spot for the economy against the backdrop of continued geopolitical tensions, ongoing supply chain diversification, and major economies like the United States continuing the decoupling of global trade and activity. However, the surge in Vietnam’s trade deficit […]