Vietnam Keeps 10% GDP Goal as H1 Trade Balance Swings to $15 Billion Deficit
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 17
Vietnam Keeps 10% GDP Goal as H1 Trade Balance Swings to $15 Billion Deficit
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 17
Summary
Vietnam said it will maintain its 10% growth target for 2026 even as first-half trade is estimated to have swung to a $15 billion deficit from a $7.6 billion surplus a year earlier.
Nguyen Duc Chi, the deputy finance minister, said the deterioration was driven by higher fuel import prices linked to the Middle East war, though he expects exports to accelerate later this year and narrow the full-year gap.
Inflation pressure is also building: May consumer prices rose 5.6% from a year earlier, above the government's 4.5% full-year target.
The outlook is further clouded by U.S. trade pressure after Washington earlier this month proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries including Vietnam over forced-labour concerns.