New vision in Vietnam-UK trade relations

Vietnam-UK trade has grown continuously since 2021 despite the pandemic and global economic and political fluctuations; the UK is interested in cooperation to develop an international financial center in Vietnam.

Vietnam established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in 1973 and signed the Joint Statement on establishing the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership in September 2010.

At the same time, Vietnam and the UK issued a new Joint Statement on Strategic Partnership on September 30, 2020 with 7 priority areas of cooperation, affirming the direction of raising relations to a higher level in the next 10 years.

The two countries signed the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) and it took effect on May 1, 2021, contributing to promoting bilateral trade and investment relations.

Therefore, General Secretary To Lam 's official visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is an important milestone to review the journey of cooperation, recognize achievements and shape a new vision for bilateral relations in the coming period.

Continuous growth

Citing data from Vietnam Customs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said: In 2024, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and the UK will reach more than 8.4 billion USD, a sharp increase of 18% compared to 2023. Of which, Vietnam's exports will reach more than 7.5 billion USD, an increase of 18.9%, and imports will reach 881.1 million USD, an increase of 10.8%.

Vietnam's trade growth with the UK market in 2024 is higher than the average trade growth with the EU region (16.8%), European countries (17.2%) and the world (15.4%).

Notably, Vietnam-UK trade has grown continuously since 2021 despite the pandemic, global economic and political fluctuations, and the decline in global trade in 2023.

Garment processing for export to EU countries, UK, US... at Kydo Vietnam Garment Company Limited in Pho Noi A Industrial Park (Hung Yen). (Photo: VNA)

With the above import-export turnover in 2024, the UK is currently Vietnam's third largest export market in Europe, after the Netherlands (13.8 billion USD) and Germany (11.7 billion USD).

By the end of September 2025, the total two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and the UK reached 6.9 billion USD, an increase of 10.4% over the same period in 2024; of which, Vietnam's exports reached more than 6.2 billion USD, an increase of 9.7%; imports from the UK reached 715.3 million USD, an increase of 16.6%. Vietnam-UK trade reached its highest level ever.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) held its first meeting in 2007, rotating periodically in the UK and Vietnam.

This mechanism is co-chaired by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the UK Department for Business and Trade (formerly the UK Department for International Trade).

At the 14th meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation between Vietnam and the UK (JETCO 14) recently in the UK, the two sides had substantive discussions and reached consensus on many practical cooperation issues, focusing on topics such as agriculture, financial services; renewable energy; bilateral trade and investment; and capacity building training.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, from the beginning of 2025 to September 2025, the UK had 30 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam, with newly registered investment capital reaching 34.3 million USD, total registered capital reaching 234.3 million USD.

As of September 2025, the UK has 607 investment projects in Vietnam with a total capital of 4.66 billion USD, accounting for nearly 1% of total foreign investment in Vietnam, ranking 15th out of 149 countries investing in Vietnam.

Currently, the UK is paying much attention to cooperation in developing an international financial center in Vietnam. Recently, many high-level delegations between Vietnam and the UK have been organized to promote cooperation in this field.

Regarding investment, the projects focus on the fields of processing and manufacturing industry; real estate business; mining; finance; wholesale and retail, auto, motorcycle and motorbike repair; accommodation and food services; water supply and waste treatment; professional activities, science and technology; education and training.

Major companies present in Vietnam include Shell (oil and gas), EE (wind power); BP (oil and gas), BHP Billiton (aluminum), Rolls-Royce (aircraft engine manufacturing), Jarrdines (multi-industry), HSBC, Standard Chartered, Prudential Insurance Company. Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC are the first two 100% foreign-owned banks established in Vietnam. Some auditing companies include: KPMG, PwC, Delloite...

Take advantage

Processing clams at Lenger Seafoods Vietnam for export to the EU, UK, Japan, US, and South Korea. (Photo: VNA)

At a working session with the British Ambassador to Vietnam on promoting energy cooperation, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long emphasized that Vietnam considers the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) an important pillar in the process of realizing the commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while opening up new cooperation space between Vietnam and development partners; in which, the UK - one of the active members of the International Group of Donors (IPG).

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long said that the UK and international partners have proposed a list of potential JETP projects in the fields of renewable energy, offshore wind power, energy storage, green technology, and technical support.

These are all areas that are in line with Vietnam’s orientation of sustainable energy development, emission reduction and industrial transformation. The technical levels of the two sides will actively coordinate in the coming time for effective implementation.

British Ambassador Iain Frew highly appreciated Vietnam's achievements in promoting energy transition cooperation within the framework of JETP, affirming that the UK is ready to accompany Vietnam in mobilizing international resources, sharing experiences and providing technical support in implementing JETP projects.

Currently, many UK credit and investment funds such as BII and UKEF are interested and ready to participate in financing JETP projects. The UK side proposed that the Ministry of Industry and Trade sign a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation to specify the cooperation contents.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Long agreed that the two sides will continue to closely coordinate in preparing memoranda of understanding and documents demonstrating the achievements and directions of green energy cooperation between the two countries' agencies, in preparation for the upcoming high-level visit, contributing to affirming the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership in the new period.

According to experts, after 4 years of implementation, the UKVFTA has created momentum for bilateral trade and investment. In particular, the advantages from the UKVFTA have promoted strong growth in Vietnam's exports to the UK market, creating leverage for many key Vietnamese product groups to exploit this market.

At the same time, the UK's official implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) also added more momentum for the development of two-way economic, trade and investment relations.

Assessing the impact of the implementation of the UKVFTA Agreement, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van - Deputy General Director of Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company, Chief of Office of the Vietnam Association of Science and Technology Enterprises in Hanoi said: The UKVFTA Agreement is an important boost to help businesses access the UK market more conveniently.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Van, the strictness of British market standards is the driving force that helps businesses improve their quality systems.

In particular, businesses must standardize their quality management systems and products from the beginning to meet UK standards and carefully study the UKVFTA agreement to respond and take advantage.

Mr. Le Dinh Ba - Commercial Counselor, Head of Vietnam - UK Trade Office said: Changing the mindset, from selling products to building responsible brands and selling stories is a very important factor for businesses.

Accordingly, businesses must consider sustainable development as a core value, not just a matter of expanding markets and increasing output.

In addition, product quality must be stable and origin must be transparent. Social commitment to environmental issues is not just an empty commitment but must be demonstrated in each product and each production stage. In particular, building long-term, trustworthy cooperative relationships with partners in the host country.

In order to build a brand and develop a sustainable market in the UK, Mr. Vu Viet Thanh - Senior Specialist in charge of the UK market, Department of Foreign Market Development (Ministry of Industry and Trade) recommends that Vietnamese enterprises need to proactively change and meet market requirements to fully exploit opportunities from the UKVFTA Agreement.

At the same time, businesses need to grasp market information carefully and proactively learn about taxes, technical standards and British consumer tastes.

On the other hand, upgrading production capacity and product quality as well as building brands and choosing appropriate marketing or distribution channels. In addition, businesses must comply with UK regulations and closely follow the rapidly changing regulations on SPS quarantine, rules of origin, product labels, etc. Be cautious in transactions, especially transactions with new businesses.

In the future, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to support Vietnamese enterprises exporting to the UK market as well as other markets to adapt to sustainable standards.

In addition, the Ministry focuses on researching, updating market information, and disseminating information to businesses about the UKVFTA Agreement.

At the same time, the Ministry will promote trade and support domestic enterprises to export, especially to the distribution channels of large retail corporations./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tam-nhin-moi-trong-quan-he-thuong-mai-viet-nam-vuong-quoc-anh-va-bac-ireland-post1073137.vnp