Vietnam to host trade defence forum to strengthen private sector resilience
Discussions will zero in on risks facing Vietnamese exports, including heightened scrutiny over circumvention and origin fraud in major markets; as well as opportunities and challenges awaiting domestic firms in 2025.
Hanoi (VNA)⛎ – The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade will convene the second annual Trade Defence Forum in Ho Chi Minh City on September 25, following a successful inaugural event last year.
The event arrives at a moment when Vietnam grapples with both the promise and the peril of its open economy. The forum’s ambition is to sharpen the acumen of Vietnamese companies, particularly those in the private sector, in wielding trade defence tools. Through a blend of updates on global trade policy trends, dissections of recent investigations, and case studies, the event seeks to arm businesses with the tools to fortify compliance and resilience against the growing tide of trade defence measures.
Discussions will zero in on risks facing Vietnamese exports, including heightened scrutiny over circumvention and origin fraud in major markets; as well as opportunities and challenges awaiting domestic firms in 2025.
The forum will propel Vietnamese companies deeper into global supply chains, aligning their trajectories with the imperatives of digital transformation, green production and sustainable growth. It will provide strategic guidance on market integration while stressing compliance with global trade rules. Organisers described the event as a platform for dialogue among regulators, businesses, industry associations, experts, and organisations to untangle obstacles and bolster support for private-sector enterprises.
According to the TRAV, its outcomes are expected to bolster Vietnam’s economic resilience against trade defence actions while elevating the private sector’s role in driving sustainable growth.
The backdrop to this gathering is a global trade environment marked by intensifying competition and a surge in protectionism. Nations worldwide are increasingly deploying trade defence measures to shield domestic industries, a trend that reverberates through Vietnam’s highly open economy, which is tethered to an array of free trade agreements. This creates a dual-edged reality of opportunity and challenge.
While Vietnamese exporters face a growing number of trade defence cases abroad, the country is also stepping up its own use of such measures to safeguard its domestic market. The private sector, seen as a backbone of economic growth and employment, must enhance its competitiveness and preparedness to overcome international trade barriers, TRAV noted./.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) committees on trade defence held a series of meetings from April 28 to May 1, the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, the WTO, and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, announced on May 6.
Part of a new Government decree, the early warning system aims to provide timely information to businesses and industry associations, enabling them to take preventive measures and prepare appropriate responses.
By the end of September 2024, Vietnamese exports were involved in 263 trade defence investigations, with half of them focusing on anti-dumping, safeguards, and countervailing measures. This increasing trend highlights the challenges faced by Vietnam’s export sector as it integrates into the global economy.
All businesses are eligible to participate in the programme without undergoing any selection or review process. Enterprises can independently launch promotional campaigns with diverse and appealing content for customers and are allowed to apply maximum discounts of up to 100%.
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) has boosted its 2025 GDP growth forecast for Vietnam to 7.5% from 6.9%, pointing to the economy’s resilience and dynamism despite tariff risks and uncertainties.
Spanning 8.4ha of gross floor area and rising to 30m, the package requires advanced steel–concrete solutions, synchronised execution and accelerated progress within 330 days.
Through this partnership, VinFast Philippines, a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates, will leverage on BDO's comprehensive suite of financial solutions including cash management, consumer banking, leasing, and insurance services and create tailored financing programmes for both retail and corporate customers.
Under the new system, passengers without checked luggage simply check in via VNeID or a kiosk, undergo facial recognition at security, and board by scanning their face. Those with baggage drop it at a counter before entering the same automated flow.
Vietnam values its international partnerships, including with the UK, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang noted, urging UK companies, funds and financial institutions, and those from Europe and worldwide, to continue expanding investment, transferring know-how, sharing management experience and advancing green finance and technology to realise Vietnam’s sustainable development vision.
Vietnamese Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang expressed gratitude for the UK’s active role in supporting Vietnam’s efforts to draft a National Assembly resolution on creating an international financial centre. The City of London, he noted, provided pivotal insights and recommendations to shape the groundwork and development roadmap for this hub.
Vietnam is ready to deepen economic cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and other partners, embracing a strategy of “harmonised interests and shared risks” as it leverages its fast-growing economy and market of over 100 million people.
Tay Ninh, Nghe An and Quang Tri provinces have strategic locations and significant cooperation potential, said Nguyen Thi Thai Binh, Minister-Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy, expressing confidence that with creativity and determination, these provinces and their Korean partners will find ample opportunities for productive collaboration.
Jointly organised by the Vinexad National Trade Fair and Advertising JSC and Yorkers Exhibition Service Vietnam, the event features 1,200 booths of more than 650 exhibitors from 20 countries and territories, including Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, and the US.
Public investment should serve as a key driver of growth, acting as seed capital to catalyse and mobilise all social resources, thereby fostering economic expansion, creating jobs and livelihoods, and improving the material and spiritual well-being of the people, PM Pham Minh Chinh stated.
An official of the Foreign Trade Agency laid stress on the foundational role of rules of origin in international trade, highlighting the importance of capacity building for enforcement officers in the context of deep international integration.
Against the backdrop of the growing comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia, the promotion and export of Vietnam’s agricultural products not only diversify supply sources for the Russian market but also help enhance the brand values and competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises in the market that remains untapped.
International trade is no longer merely an exchange of goods but a strategic lever enabling Vietnamese enterprises to enhance capacity, secure partnerships, and expand globally.
In the first eight months of 2025, Vietnam’s total trade value reached nearly 600 billion USD, up 16.3% year on year. Of this, exports stood at 306 billion USD, a 14.8% increase, already surpassing the full-year target.
Vietnam aims to maintain macroeconomic stability, control inflation below the target, achieve growth of 8.3-8.5%, ensure major economic balances, surpass budget revenue estimates by 25%, and control public debt, government debt, foreign debt, and budget deficit.
Reaffirming Vietnam’s commitment to foreign investors, Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang said government policies always aim to ensure transparency, fairness and a mutually beneficial environment that promotes innovation and safeguards investor rights, making Vietnam a sustainable and long-term investment destination.
The State Bank of Vietnam must launch an official gold price information portal, study the establishment of gold exchanges, and issue guiding documents to implement the Government’s decree on the management of gold trading activities.
According to the World Bank Group, Vietnam will need approximately 368 billion USD in investment for climate adaptation and carbon reduction projects by 2040. Yet, as of the end of 2024, green credit accounted for just 4.5% of the country’s total outstanding loans.
