“Vietnamese goods to the US” under tariff pressure

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - The US market has long been one of the leading export destinations for Vietnamese goods. With a large population, high purchasing power and diverse consumer tastes, the US is not only a potential market but also a measure of quality for Vietnamese enterprises in general and Thanh Hoa enterprises in particular. However, recent fluctuations in US trade policy, especially measures to strengthen control of goods origin and technical barriers, have forced businesses to proactively adjust their strategies, with many new solutions to adapt.

Faced with pressure on technical standards from the US market, many manufacturing enterprises in Thanh Hoa are proactively adjusting their strategies and controlling quality right from the packaging stage to maintain export orders.

Recently, the US President's administration issued a series of tariff adjustment policies to protect domestic supply chains and deal with competition from Asian countries, including Vietnam. Although Vietnam is not directly subject to tariffs like China, related industries such as textiles, footwear, wooden furniture or electronic components are still subject to stricter scrutiny than ever. Specifically, requirements for supply chain transparency, traceability of raw materials and compliance with production standards are becoming prerequisites for Vietnamese goods to be able to enter the US market smoothly.

In Thanh Hoa, some export enterprises have begun to feel this pressure. A representative of Appareltech Export Garment Company Limited, Vinh Long Commune (Vinh Loc) said: Many orders to the US are being delayed because partners require additional documents proving the origin of raw materials. Previously, a regular certificate of origin was enough, but now the US side requires import documents for input materials, and even conducts factory inspections. This puts small and medium enterprises in a passive position because their supply chain management capacity and documentation are still limited.

The wood industry is no exception to this trend. Thanh Hoa Industrial Wood Company Limited once achieved a turnover of more than 4 million USD from the US market in 2024. However, in 2025, in the first quarter alone, the number of orders decreased by about 20%. The reason comes not only from the slowing consumption market, but also from the significant increase in production costs when businesses are forced to change their raw material sources from China to other countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, to avoid being implicated in trade defense investigations from the US. This change causes raw material costs to increase by an average of 15-20%, while also causing transportation costs, quality inspection and technical standards certification to increase accordingly.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Hung, deputy director of the company, said: “Never before has exporting to the US faced so many technical barriers as it does today. We not only have to work directly with importers but also have to provide documents related to the entire supply chain, from logging to the final production stage. Inspection requirements are also more stringent than before, requiring businesses to invest heavily in equipment and quality control processes. Meanwhile, changing raw material suppliers also causes localized disruptions in the production process, significantly affecting delivery progress and reputation with customers.”

However, amid these difficulties, there are still many positive signs showing that Vietnamese goods still have the opportunity to break through in the US market if they know how to adapt. In the context of the US gradually reducing its dependence on Chinese goods, Vietnam is emerging as an alternative destination in the global supply chain. Data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that in the first quarter of 2025, the total export turnover of goods from Vietnam to the US reached nearly 26 billion USD, an increase of 6.3% over the same period last year. Thanh Hoa alone reached 320 million USD, an increase of 8.7% - higher than the average growth rate of the whole country.

Workers of Appareltech Garment Export Company Limited (Vinh Long commune, Vinh Loc district) during a production shift.

However, in reality, most of the province's export enterprises have not yet reached the safety threshold when penetrating deeply into the US market. Thanh Hoa currently has about 304 enterprises with export activities, of which more than 30% of enterprises use the US market as their main consumption hub. However, only about 10% of these enterprises have sufficient capacity and international standard certifications such as BSCI, WRAP, ISO 22000 - almost mandatory conditions if they want to bring goods into large retail systems in the US. The lack of standards, lack of transparency in the supply chain and weak traceability are "bottlenecks" that make it easy for enterprises to have orders rejected or have difficulty negotiating prices.

In that context, the province is implementing many solutions to support businesses to access the US market in a more systematic and sustainable manner. The Provincial People's Committee has coordinated with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organize specialized training courses on international trade, and invited experts and representatives of Vietnamese trade offices in the US to share experiences. In addition, the Thanh Hoa Department of Industry and Trade is promoting the establishment of a working group to support exports to the US market with the task of reviewing, consulting, connecting businesses with international certification agencies, and supporting the application of digital technology in product traceability, packaging and promotion. Many businesses are also encouraged to transform digitally, invest in cross-border e-commerce platforms, and gradually reduce dependence on traditional distribution channels.

From the reality of those efforts, it can be seen that the US market is still a door full of potential but also no less challenging. In the trend of trade protection and increasing technical barriers, only enterprises that know how to proactively adapt, invest deeply, improve product quality and make production processes transparent are capable of breaking through. For Thanh Hoa enterprises, there is no shortage of opportunities, the problem is daring to change in time to avoid falling behind in the global export race.

Article and photos: Chi Pham

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/hang-viet-sang-my-truoc-suc-ep-thue-quan-247730.htm