Vietnam - UK trade boost

Impressive foreign trade growth

According to statistics from the Customs Department ( Ministry of Finance ), the two-way trade turnover in 2024 between Vietnam and the UK will reach more than 8.4 billion USD, an increase of 18% compared to 2023. In particular, thanks to taking advantage of tariff incentives from the UKVFTA effective from 2021, Vietnam's exports to the UK reached a record of more than 7.5 billion USD, an increase of 18.9%; imports reached 881.1 million USD, an increase of 10.8%; trade surplus reached more than 6.6 billion USD, an increase of 21.4%.

“Vietnam's trade growth with the UK market in 2024 will be higher than the average trade growth with the EU region (16.8%), European countries (17.2%) and the world (15.4%),” the Multilateral Trade Policy Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) assessed.

The recovery of Vietnam's trade with the UK is thanks to the acceleration of a number of key export groups with large turnover such as machinery and equipment, spare parts, computers and electronic products, footwear and textiles... On the contrary, the UK's export growth to Vietnam focuses on products with high scientific and technological content, as well as high-quality input materials, such as machinery products, automobiles, basic chemicals, medical products , pharmaceuticals...

Vietnam-UK trade relations continued to record positive growth in the first 9 months of 2025, with total import-export turnover reaching 6.93 billion USD, up 6.62% over the same period in 2024. Of which, exports to the UK reached 6.22 billion USD, up 9.84%; imports from the UK reached 715.3 million USD, up 20.41%; trade surplus was nearly 5.5 billion USD.

The UKVFTA coming into effect in early 2021 has contributed to promoting Vietnam-UK trade, despite being heavily impacted by the pandemic and global economic and political fluctuations. The UK is currently Vietnam's third largest export market in Europe.

Since Vietnam and the UK announced the elevation of their strategic partnership in 2010, trade between the two countries has grown more than three times. In 2010, bilateral trade in goods reached more than 2 billion USD. In 2021 - the first year of the UKVFTA, trade in goods between Vietnam and the UK reached 6.6 billion USD, an increase of 17.2% compared to 2020.

In 2022, due to the general difficulties of the world and the UK economy, two-way trade decreased, but Vietnam's exports to the UK still increased by about 1.9%, and some of Vietnam's key export industries maintained double-digit growth.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr. Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan, assessed that the Vietnam-UK trade and investment relationship has recorded remarkable development and strong cooperation in all aspects. Regarding trade, the two countries have had the UKVFTA implemented for more than 4 years and most recently the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) when the UK became the 12th member of this agreement.

Positive outlook

The UK’s economic and trade policy in 2025 and beyond will promote deeper trade, investment and diplomatic relations with Vietnam, especially through the UKVFTA. Furthermore, from December 15, 2024, the CPTPP officially took effect in the UK, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese goods.

British Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr. Iain Frew, affirmed that the relationship between the two countries has developed in both breadth and depth. In particular, trade cooperation is an important pillar in the bilateral relationship.

With the two new generation FTAs currently in effect, UKVFTA and CPTPP, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assesses that Vietnamese enterprises have a lot of room to exploit the market, so that export turnover to the UK can soon reach the 10 billion USD mark. According to the tariff reduction roadmap of the two FTAs above, Vietnamese goods will gradually have a prominent advantage over similar products from other countries that do not have FTAs with the UK such as China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, or some South American countries.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/luc-day-thuong-mai-viet-nam---vuong-quoc-anh-d424357.html