Growth pressure from tariff policy

Businesses participating in trade at the Vietnam International Furniture and Handicraft Export Fair 2025. Photo: V.Gia

The business community as well as the State are implementing solutions to resolve challenges and exploit advantages to strive to achieve high growth targets this year.

Pressure on both businesses and the economy

Director of An Gia Door Company Limited (in Long Thanh District) Dinh Duc Dien said that his company specializes in manufacturing in the field of mechanics and aluminum doors for construction projects. The problem is that raw materials for production are mostly imported. When the tariff policy between the US and other countries is implemented, the import of raw materials of enterprises will be affected, and prices will fluctuate. In addition, monetary policy and foreign exchange rates are also issues worth paying attention to, but no matter what the impact is, enterprises must be proactive in finding ways to adapt.

Another business owner shared that in the coming time, his company as well as other units will face great pressure. That is the "wave" of goods from China to Vietnam when facing difficulties in the US market. The US tax increase also has a big impact when during the 90 days of "hanging" to wait for the negotiation results, businesses are uncertain because they do not know how to produce, deliver goods, import raw materials and what the negotiation results will be. These things affect the production and business activities of businesses, and the jobs of workers are also more precarious.

In 2025, the Department of Industry and Trade will continue to promote new-generation FTAs ​​so that businesses can exploit them effectively and diversify their markets. At the same time, it will provide in-depth training on taxes, rules of origin, market access, trade defense, and intellectual property to support businesses.

In addition to the above issues, according to Ms. Vu Kim Hanh, Chairwoman of the Association of High-Quality Vietnamese Goods Enterprises, another factor that needs to be taken into account is that, in the face of the impacts and pressures from tariff policies, foreign-invested enterprises (FDI) in Vietnam will also be affected. When the Chinese domestic market has inventory from domestic factories, it will be even more difficult for FDI enterprises from Vietnam to export goods to this market. This will create more pressure on product competition right in the Vietnamese market.

In the first quarter of 2025, the country's GDP grew by 6.93%, which is a positive result when looking at the world economic picture with many uncertainties. However, this growth rate is still lower than the 8% growth target set for this year, so the pressure on the growth rate in the remaining quarters of the year is very high. In the unpredictable context of the world economy and policies from the US, achieving this goal is not easy.

Flexible solutions to promote growth

On April 22, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 47/CD-TTg on a number of key tasks and solutions to promote economic growth in 2025. The Prime Minister assigned ministries, agencies and localities to proactively develop response scenarios, not to be passive or surprised. It is necessary to immediately deploy flexible and effective adaptation solutions both in the short and long term to the new US tariff policy.

In particular, for the export sector, it is necessary to promote trade, effectively exploit the 17 signed free trade agreements (FTAs); urgently negotiate and sign new FTAs ​​with potential markets. Urgently develop a working scenario with US agencies to negotiate reciprocal trade agreements, ensuring harmony, reasonableness, and benefits for both sides. At the same time, more actively support businesses in connecting trade, promoting exports; responding to trade defense lawsuits, adapting to new technical barriers of countries.

According to the General Statistics Office, before the US decided to impose reciprocal taxes on exports from Vietnam, many groups of goods exported to the US in the past were still subject to an average import tax rate of about 12%. This is because Vietnam and the US have not yet signed an FTA. The upcoming tax imposition (if any) will not be on all products, but will be selective for each industry. Therefore, the General Statistics Office recommends that businesses stay calm and continue to negotiate with brands and buyers to adapt to the level.
new tax

In Dong Nai, since the beginning of the year, provincial leaders have also directed and issued documents to promote double-digit growth. In particular, the Department of Industry and Trade has set a target of 10% export growth, reaching over 26.3 billion USD. To achieve the above target, the proposed solutions are to review and make recommendations to all levels on connecting supply and demand, promoting trade, encouraging exports, and supporting the production of goods to replace imports. Closely monitor the international situation, support associations and enterprises to grasp information and respond. The Department also promotes trade promotion, supports enterprises to promote products, seek export markets, participate in fairs and exhibitions at home and abroad, etc.

Van Gia

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/ap-luc-tang-truong-tu-chinh-sach-thue-quan-9f948e1/