'Made in Vietnam' Goods Reach Record Popularity in US Market
2020-04-01
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1Products from Vietnam have become more popular in the United States than ever before.
2U.S. imports from the Southeast Asian nation increased 36 percent last year to $67 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported.
3This represents the highest increase in a single year since 2003.
4Vietnam is a major supplier of electronic products, furniture, clothing, footwear, and fish to the United States.
5It also is a major exporter of coffee, rice, and other foods.
6Michael Ryan is the director of economics at IHS Markit Economics, an investment research service.
7He told VOA the latest increase shows Vietnam is making a "massive reorientation" in trade toward the U.S. market.
8"The United States has become far and away the most important driver of Vietnam's export engine, accounting for two-thirds of Vietnam's total export growth in 2019," Ryan said.
9Many businesses have been moving to Vietnam to reduce their dependence on China, where it has become more costly or harder to do business for several reasons.
10These include the trade war between the U.S. and China, higher operating costs and the spread of the new coronavirus.
11After U.S. officials asked Vietnam buy more American goods, the country announced in March it would buy $3 billion worth of farm goods.
12That promise came after Vietnam said it would buy American-made airplanes.
13Less than a year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Vietnam with tariffs.
14He accused Vietnam of abusing the trading system, but did not say how.
15Trump said he wants to increase U.S. exports to Vietnam to help make up for the much larger levels of imported goods.
16Instead, the difference between what the U.S. imports from Vietnam compared to the U.S. exports has increased every year from 2008 to 2019, the Census Bureau found.
17While economists say a trade balance is not the only way to measure trade success, Vietnam is exporting more because of the U.S. trade war with China.
18Jing Wu is an assistant professor of business at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
19He told VOA that the trade war did not get companies to move to the United States.
20Instead, it caused many to move to other nations, like Vietnam, he said.
21Wu and others at the university's business school studied the relationship between trade uncertainty and the movement of companies.
22Their research supported the idea that many companies seek out new markets during a trade war.
23As examples, they named major companies including Apple, Chevron, and Victoria's Secret owner L Brands, which all have moved more business to Vietnam.
24Their study was carried out before the arrival of COVID-19, the coronavirus first reported in China that has since spread around the world.
25The virus has greatly damaged supply chains and economic activity around the world.
26But some businesses say they expect to be active in Vietnam after the crisis and continue to invest there.
27For example, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council recently acted on plans to send business representatives to Vietnam.
28I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Products from Vietnam have become more popular in the United States than ever before. 2U.S. imports from the Southeast Asian nation increased 36 percent last year to $67 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. This represents the highest increase in a single year since 2003. 3Vietnam is a major supplier of electronic products, furniture, clothing, footwear, and fish to the United States. It also is a major exporter of coffee, rice, and other foods. 4Michael Ryan is the director of economics at IHS Markit Economics, an investment research service. He told VOA the latest increase shows Vietnam is making a "massive reorientation" in trade toward the U.S. market. 5"The United States has become far and away the most important driver of Vietnam's export engine, accounting for two-thirds of Vietnam's total export growth in 2019," Ryan said. 6Many businesses have been moving to Vietnam to reduce their dependence on China, where it has become more costly or harder to do business for several reasons. These include the trade war between the U.S. and China, higher operating costs and the spread of the new coronavirus. 7After U.S. officials asked Vietnam buy more American goods, the country announced in March it would buy $3 billion worth of farm goods. That promise came after Vietnam said it would buy American-made airplanes. 8Less than a year ago, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Vietnam with tariffs. He accused Vietnam of abusing the trading system, but did not say how. Trump said he wants to increase U.S. exports to Vietnam to help make up for the much larger levels of imported goods. 9Instead, the difference between what the U.S. imports from Vietnam compared to the U.S. exports has increased every year from 2008 to 2019, the Census Bureau found. While economists say a trade balance is not the only way to measure trade success, Vietnam is exporting more because of the U.S. trade war with China. 10Jing Wu is an assistant professor of business at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He told VOA that the trade war did not get companies to move to the United States. Instead, it caused many to move to other nations, like Vietnam, he said. 11Wu and others at the university's business school studied the relationship between trade uncertainty and the movement of companies. 12Their research supported the idea that many companies seek out new markets during a trade war. As examples, they named major companies including Apple, Chevron, and Victoria's Secret owner L Brands, which all have moved more business to Vietnam. 13Their study was carried out before the arrival of COVID-19, the coronavirus first reported in China that has since spread around the world. The virus has greatly damaged supply chains and economic activity around the world. 14But some businesses say they expect to be active in Vietnam after the crisis and continue to invest there. For example, the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council recently acted on plans to send business representatives to Vietnam. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16VOA News reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20furniture - n. objects such as chairs, tables and beds that are put inside rooms or buildings 21reorientation - n. the action of changing the focus or direction of something 22account for - v. to be part of a total number of something 23tariff - n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country 24uncertainty - n. the state of not being sure about or not being able to decide something 25supply chain - n. the processes involved in the production and sales of a product or products