Vietnam sits right on the main global shipping routes, offers competitive costs, and has a wide range of products to choose from. That’s why more and more US buyers see Vietnam as a reliable sourcing partner and even a solid alternative to other countries in the region.
If you’re exploring the idea of importing from Vietnam but aren’t sure what the country’s strengths are or whether they match the products you’re targeting, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we will show you “What is Vietnam’s top export to the US?” and share what you should know before sourcing.
Vietnam – US Trade Overview
The US is by far Vietnam’s leading export market. Exports to the US during 2024 reached close to 120 billion USD. The major products include machinery, electronics, garments and textiles, furniture, seafood, and footwear. These sectors have been increasing steadily for the past five years and demanding a progressively greater share of Vietnam’s exports.
To date, Vietnam is the sixth largest supplier to the US in total. But if you look only at Asia, it comes in third after China and Japan, far ahead of other Southeast Asian countries. That positions Vietnam as a good, practical option for importers looking to diversify Asian sourcing.
5 Key Sectors Driving Vietnam’s Top Exports to the US
We’ve just had a quick look at how the US trades with Vietnam. Now let’s get into the big question: What is Vietnam’s top export to the US? These are the products that the US buys billions of dollars’ worth every year:
1. Textile
Textiles and apparel have been at the forefront of Vietnamese and American business for a long, long time. And Vietnam already is the second-largest textile supplier to America. Sales of these products to America alone in the first six months of this year totaled nearly 8.47 billion dollars. That is cotton and mixed fabrics, as well as t-shirts, jackets, and sportswear.
Why is Vietnam so dominant in textiles, then? First of all, local factories have a skilled workforce that pays close attention to quality. Fair labor practices of average wages in Vietnam is also around US $328 per month, lower than China at US $580.
Production costs are also very competitive, with labor costs averaging US $3 per hour, compared to US $6.50 in China. In addition to that is the well-organized supply chain.
Because of these advantages, Vietnam has become a natural choice when looking for sourcing partners. Large US retailers like Walmart and Costco, along with well-known fashion brands like GAP, Ross, and Nike, import a significant percentage of their lines from Vietnam.
2. Furniture
When we talk about Vietnam’s furniture exports to the US, wooden products always take center stage. Presently, Vietnam stands at the top in exporting wooden furniture to the US market. To put you into perspective, in just the first quarter of this year, the US spent around 1.2 billion dollars on wooden frame chairs alone.
Main importers are major US retailers such as Ashley Furniture, Pottery Barn, and even IKEA. Key sourcing items are frame chairs for the living room, sofa sets, dining tables, and bedroom sets. The most exported material used in these furniture products is acacia wood, due to its dominance in Vietnam’s plantation forests, ease of processing, and high demand from buyers.
3. Electronics
Electronics is another key sector in Vietnam’s top exports to the US in 2025, with an export value of 18.5 billion USD in the first half of the year. Assisted by foreign investment, the country now has a decent high-technology manufacturing base. Domestic factories are also more capable, handling complex production tasks and working in coordination with global brands like Intel and Apple.
In the first few months of this year, US imports of electric goods from Vietnam grew by more than 68% compared to last year, showing how quickly this sector is expanding. The biggest exports include phones, computers, electronic parts, and consumer gadgets you’d find in most American homes.
4. Footwear
You might be surprised to know that Vietnam is one of the two biggest suppliers of footwear to the US. In the first half of this year, the US spent about 4.35 billion USD on shoes from Vietnam, including leather, rubber, plastic, and sports footwear. If you’re wearing a pair of Nikes, chances are they were made in Vietnam. Roughly half of Nike’s shoes worldwide are produced here. Brands like Michael Kors and Reebok also trust Vietnamese factories for their footwear lines.
Why footwear, specifically? Because Vietnam has a highly specialized footwear supply chain with over 2,200 dedicated factories. Alongside is experienced labor for hand-assembly and stitching, which Alongside is experienced labor for hand-assembly and stitching, which has been consistently rated Tier 1 by Nike and Adidas for meeting precision bonded sole and molded upper standards. The turnaround time is also 30 – 45 days faster and defect rates are just under 2.5%.
5. Agricultural Goods
In spite of the new US tariffs imposed earlier this year, Vietnamese farm exports still grew by nearly 15% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching an export value of about 14.31 billion USD. Pepper, cashew nuts, seafood such as shrimp and pangasius, robusta coffee, and fruit such as dragon fruit, mango, and longan have been steady US buyer favorites through the years.
In categories like coffee, Vietnam ranks second only to Brazil as a supplier to the US, with shipments worth USD 355 million in 2024. The country leads in pepper, making up over 77% of US pepper imports by volume in the same year. The reason US buyers favor Vietnamese agricultural goods comes down to cost efficiency, reliable supply, and certified quality.
To provide a clearer picture of what the US is importing from Vietnam, we have listed the top ten export items for the first half of 2025. The table also shows what percentage each product contributes to the total export value. The data was collected from Vietnam Customs.
| # | Product Category | Export Value (billion USD) | Share of Total Exports (%) |
| 1 | Computers, electronics, and parts | 18.5 | 26.09 |
| 2 | Machinery, equipment, tools, spare parts | 11.31 | 15.95 |
| 3 | Textiles and apparel | 8.47 | 11.94 |
| 4 | Phones and phone accessories | 5.36 | 7.56 |
| 5 | Wood and wood products | 4.56 | 6.43 |
| 6 | Footwear | 4.35 | 6.13 |
| 7 | Toys, sporting goods, and parts | 2.29 | 3.23 |
| 8 | Plastic products | 1.78 | 2.52 |
| 9 | Transport vehicles and vehicle parts | 1.69 | 2.38 |
| 10 | Bags, wallets, cases, hats, umbrellas | 938.73 | 1.33 |
| Total exports from Vietnam to the US (first 6 months of 2025) | 70.91 | 100 |
Sourcing Made-in-Vietnam Products from the US
Vietnam’s top exports to the US include furniture, footwear, seafood, cashews, and coffee. Clearly, this brings strong opportunities for US buyers in terms of price, scale, and certified supply. The question now is, how to source effectively from Vietnamese suppliers? Here are five key points:
- Start with research: Identify reliable sources of supplier information, such as official industry directories, export associations, or government trade portals, to build a longlist.
- Check compliance: Review whether suppliers hold internationally recognized certifications for quality, safety, or sustainability to confirm they can legally ship to the US.
- Confirm export track record: Look into whether a supplier has a proven history of shipping similar products to the US, which signals experience with customs and buyer requirements.
- Meet suppliers directly: Attend trade fairs or arrange factory visits to evaluate production capacity, working conditions, and communication style.
- Run controlled trials: Issue a clear request for quotation, compare multiple offers, request samples, and conduct inspections before committing to larger orders.
Common Challenges in Importing from Vietnam
Like with any country, importing from Vietnam has its good sides and also a few things you’ll want to watch out for:
- Language and cultural barriers: Communication styles in Vietnam can be more indirect than in the US. Suppliers often prefer using apps like Zalo, WhatsApp, or Viber for day-to-day communication rather than relying only on email. In addition, delays are common during long national holidays such as Tết, and time zone differences can slow down responses if you don’t plan ahead.
- Transparency issues with suppliers: Compared with China, Vietnam has far fewer suppliers listed on big B2B platforms like Alibaba. Many factories still rely on offline networks, so reliable information is harder to access without direct outreach or local support.
- Quality control and product consistency: Production standards vary across factories. Without third-party inspection or local staff, buyers risk inconsistencies between samples and mass production.
To solve these problems, you can also work with VinaSources. We’re a one-stop platform for Vietnam sourcing, making the process simple and trustworthy because we do the heavy lifting for you. All the exporters in our network are pre-verified, so you don’t have to spend weeks checking licenses, certificates, or factory details.
Here is how we assist you at every step:
- Tell us what you need. Let us know the product category, quantity, quality specifications, or even your target price.
- We collect and match quotes from trustworthy suppliers, then pass along the best ones to you.
- We take care of the rest: factory audit, quality inspection, export documentation, shipping, tracking, and even warehousing if you need it.
Want to see how simple it can be? Just submit an RFQ and we’ll get you started.