Vietnam recorded robust economic growth in 2025, underscoring the country’s resilience as a global manufacturing and export hub despite facing new trade barriers from its largest export market, the United States.
The Southeast Asian economy expanded by about 8.0 per cent last year, driven by strong performances in services, construction, and exports, reinforcing Vietnam’s position as one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.
Okay News reports that Vietnam’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said gross domestic product growth reached an estimated 8.02 per cent in 2025, a marked improvement on the previous year and well above growth levels recorded earlier in the decade.
Officials said the expansion was achieved despite the introduction of fresh U.S. tariffs on Vietnamese products, including clothing and footwear, which had raised concerns about potential headwinds for trade and manufacturing.
Exports remained a major engine of growth, with Vietnam earning about $475 billion from exports in 2025, representing a 17 per cent increase year-on-year, according to official data released by the GSO.
Imports also rose sharply, reaching $455 billion, up 19 per cent compared to 2024, reflecting strong domestic demand, industrial activity, and continued integration into global supply chains.
China remained Vietnam’s largest source of imports, supplying raw materials, machinery, and intermediate goods that support the country’s manufacturing sector and export-oriented industries.
In July, Vietnam negotiated a revised trade arrangement with the United States, securing a minimum 20 per cent tariff, down from rates exceeding 40 per cent, in exchange for opening its domestic market to U.S. products such as automobiles.
Analysts say the agreement helped ease trade tensions and provided a degree of certainty for exporters, even as global protectionist pressures persisted.
Chad Ovel, a partner at Mekong Capital, said Vietnam’s performance highlights its economic resilience, noting that strong domestic consumption, rising business investment, and sustained government spending helped offset external risks.
He added that the 2025 growth outcome reflects the country’s solid economic fundamentals and the government’s continued push toward pro-private-sector policies.
Vietnam’s latest figures mark a clear acceleration from previous years, after growth of just over 5 per cent in 2023 and more than 7 per cent in 2024, signalling renewed momentum in one of Asia’s most dynamic economies.
