The import-driven surge in the trade gap reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday (Feb 6) also suggests a 3 pct annual economic growth may be hard to achieve. Imports, which subtract from gross domestic product, could get a further boost from a US$1.5 trillion tax cut package that became effective in January.The fiscal stimulus comes when the economy is almost at full employment, which means the resulting increase in demand will likely be satisfied with imports."When an economy is at full employment, an acceleration in demand tends to be accompanied by a pickup in import growth and a wider trade deficit," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.The trade deficit increased 5.3 pct to US$53.1 billion, the highest level since October 2008. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the trade gap widening to US$52.0 billion in December. Part of the rise in the trade gap reflected higher commodity price increases.The deficit surged 12.1 pct to US$566.0 billion in … [Read more...] about US trade deficit rises to nine-year high on robust imports
Import
Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend Vietnamese fish imports
HÀ NỘI — Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has decided to temporarily suspend the import of fish and shrimps from Việt Nam. The ban, effective from March 1, is in accordance with the regulatory procedure for fish and other aquaculture export establishments of SFDA, according to a note published on the Saudi Aquaculture Society’s website. The decision came after a delegation of several regulators, including SFDA, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Saudi Aquaculture Society conducted an inspection tour last month to 24 Vietnamese facilities that exported to Saudi Arabia. The delegation found that only nine facilities met the hygiene requirements of Saudia Arabia, reported vtv.vn. The suspension will be in place until the facilities complied to Saudi Arabia’s requirements. This is one of the most serious actions by Saudi Arabia against Vietnamese exporting firms. The Việt Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority … [Read more...] about Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend Vietnamese fish imports
US tariffs to wash out local imports
The move came in response to petitions from American manufacturers, who have complained for years that rising imports were eating into their sales. It may signal the start of a wider administrative offensive against US trading partnerUS President Donald Trump’s government imposed tariffs of 30% on solar panels, which will gradually fall by half after four years. Those tariffs were less severe than what had been requested by Suniva and SolarWorld, the two US companies that sought the government’s aid in the matter.In 2017, the US Department of Commerce levied new tariffs on washing machines arriving in the US from China, only to see Samsung and LG shift again, this time to Thailand and Vietnam, which over the past two years have become the biggest exporters of washing machines to the US.In the case of washing machines, Trump’s government acted in response to a petition from Whirlpool, which complained about low-cost competition from rivals Samsung and LG.An official of … [Read more...] about US tariffs to wash out local imports
Auto imports in record drop in January: GSO
Some 1,000 cars worth US$94 million were imported to the Vietnamese market in January, reports the General Statistics Office.This marks a record drop of 86.2 per cent in volume and 38 per cent in value compared to the previous month.The drop comes after auto businesses, including Toyota Motors Vietnam and Honda, stopped importing autos due to the government’s Decree 116, which tightens control over quality, technical safety and environment protection of imported autos.Speaking at the government’s monthly press conference on February 2, minister and chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung, said a number of embassies and organisations had sent letters to the Prime Minister proposing him to direct relevant ministries and sectors to reconsider the decree.Dung said the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association had submitted four letters of recommendation to the government to remove difficulties, saying that the provisions in the decree were … [Read more...] about Auto imports in record drop in January: GSO
As car imports slow, sales of domestically assembled cars go up
To date, the circular guiding the implementation of the decree has not been issued. Therefore, waiting is the only choice for enterprises. No cars have been imported to Vietnam since the beginning of the year. As imports still have not arrived, the prices of favorite models have been escalating. The situation is not expected to improve in the next three months. However, Tuan said domestically made products can satisfy domestic demand. Vietnamese tend to buy valuable assets on the days before the new lunar new year. However, despite increased demand, the prices of products made by domestic joint ventures remain stable. Some models even have selling prices tens of millions of dong less than the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices. As imports are getting scarce, many people have decided to buy domestically assembled cars instead. Observers said with the total assembly capacity of 500,000 products a year, the supply is still twice as much as demand. If … [Read more...] about As car imports slow, sales of domestically assembled cars go up