Vietnamese agriculture sector, whose growth saw the ten-year high in the first six months of 2018, is vulnerable to the latest escalations of trade tension between China and the US, said a local economist.
Economist Ngo Tri Long reckoned that products from China and the US, witnessing steep duties from each other, would seek for alternative markets including Vietnam. Hence, Vietnamese agricultural products would face a fiercer competition with foreseen increasing flow of imported goods.
“China remains the biggest buyer of almost all Vietnam’s agricultural products like fruits, rice, seafood, etc. Thus the US-China trade clash would put pressure on China’s imports, a move that can affect Vietnam,” Long noted.
As such, not only Vietnam’s domestic market but also export playground will face fierce competition since a slowdown in import demand of the US and China is predicted for late 2018.
Notably, 75% of Vietnam’s vegetable export worth US$2 billion in first six months of 2018, went to China.
The latest trade war between the US and China was fired by the former last Friday when Washington slapped a 25% duty on about US$34 billion worth of Chinese goods. China retaliated immediately with a similar action, the Asian country’s foreign ministry said.
With the move, US President Donald Trump aims to be in line with pledges he made during his presidential campaign to get tough on China, amid the country's upcoming mid-term election. Yet the tension elscalation in trade can generate unexpectedly negative effects to the global economy that is on strong recovery.
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“China remains the biggest buyer of almost all Vietnam’s agricultural products like fruits, rice, seafood, etc. Thus the US-China trade clash would put pressure on China’s imports, a move that can affect Vietnam,” Long noted.
As such, not only Vietnam’s domestic market but also export playground will face fierce competition since a slowdown in import demand of the US and China is predicted for late 2018.
Notably, 75% of Vietnam’s vegetable export worth US$2 billion in first six months of 2018, went to China.
The latest trade war between the US and China was fired by the former last Friday when Washington slapped a 25% duty on about US$34 billion worth of Chinese goods. China retaliated immediately with a similar action, the Asian country’s foreign ministry said.
With the move, US President Donald Trump aims to be in line with pledges he made during his presidential campaign to get tough on China, amid the country's upcoming mid-term election. Yet the tension elscalation in trade can generate unexpectedly negative effects to the global economy that is on strong recovery.
