US interest in Vietnamese sourced textiles is growing. And greater foreign investment in textiles isn’t far behind.
The 2025 Heimtextil International Trade Fair, the world’s largest home-textile show held recently in Frankfurt, provided pointers to Western importers eyeing Vietnam as an alternative supplier of textiles and garments amid signs of a US-led “tariff war” against China.
Since taking office on January 20, US President Donald Trump has startled global supply chains with his “tariff rhetoric” which essentially translates as restricting foreign supplies with hurdles such as tariffs on imports, thereby strengthening domestic industries and job creation. China is seen as the main target of the tariffs because it has persistently engaged in unimpeded exports, including fentanyl, to the US.
Vietnam Textile Exports
Vietnam’s textile exports (textiles, garments, including technical and cord fabrics) fared well in the first three quarters of 2024 with exports touching, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, $ 31.2 billion, a 9.8% year-on-year growth.
Vietnam’s textiles and garment exports to the US reached $12 billion in the first three quarters, up 9.1% compared to the corresponding 2023 period. The country’s total textile/garment export target for the entire year 2024 was set at $44 billion.
At the main Heimtextil show, organized by Messe Frankfurt GmbH, Vietnam highlighted its strength in textiles and garment manufacturing during a special presentation staged by the Hong Kong-based Messe Frankfurt (HK), which organizes many of the Frankfurt shows in Asia, including the VIATT trade show in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from Feb. 26-28, 2025.
Danh Tran, vice president of Vietnam Design Association (VDAS), and an expert on the country’s textile and garment industry, explained in an interview in Frankfurt with the American Journal of Transportation that Vietnam was monitoring trends in major markets, including sustainability and recycling. “Vietnam’s textile industry is placing emphasis on circular economy, in keeping with the sustainability trend,” Tran explained. Sustainability is driving many countries to resort to recycling of used materials. “Vietnam’s industry recognizes the importance of not wasting resources, including raw materials,” she added.
Vietnam’s urban development is driven by rising income levels and housing demand; the mushrooming of high-rise apartment buildings is also driving strong demand for home-textiles used in apartment furnishing. “Vietnam’s textile industry continues to grow… demand from housing and the hospitality industry drives demand for furnishing, thus strengthening the textile industry,” Tran said, noting that the U.S. was the biggest buyer of Vietnam-produced home textiles, bedding, curtains, garments, etc.
Cotton Supplies
The US is a major supplier of cotton to Vietnam, though India and, to a less extent, Pakistan also supply the commodity.
Ben Shi, Trade Fair Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK), said that Vietnam’s total exports of textiles in 2024 amounted to $44 billion, up 11% over 2023. Vietnam’s trade agreements such as CPTPP, Rcep, UKVFTA, etc. had boosted Vietnam’s exports, thanks to the removal of tariffs. “Vietnam has emerged as an important player in the manufacturing value chain,” Shi said.
Vietnam has signed free trade agreements with more than 60 partners in all the continents. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Vietnam is at par with Singapore, Southeast Asia’s most developed country, in terms of market access liberalization.
At the Frankfurt show, some participants, impressed by the “exponential growth” of Vietnam’s textile industry, even suggested that Vietnam should be presented as a “partner country” at a future Heimtextil show in Frankfurt; this would further upstage Vietnam’s textile and garment industry, highlighting its important role in global supply chains bolstered by its aggressive infrastructure development and extensive interconnectivity with world markets.
Olaf Schmidt, the Frankfurt-based vice president (textiles/textile technology) of Messe Frankfurt GmbH and an expert on textile industry and textile supply chains, stated in an interview that “these are challenging times indeed amid geopolitical tensions, rising production and shipping costs, tariffs, etc.” With the show recording impressive growth rates in exhibitor numbers – 6% plus over the 2024 exhibitor numbers - and visitors from 140 countries, including large number of buyers from USA, there was also a heightened interest among foreign buyers over reviewing their traditional supply chains because of ongoing global developments.
“Vietnam’s popularity as a supplier of textiles and garments is undisputed and it will be another key player in global supply chains, though China will also remain a key player,” noted Schmidt.
Huynh Dinh Thai Linh, the CEO of the World Trade Center in Binh Duong New City in Vietnam’s Binh Duon province, and is also chairperson of the Binh Duong Logistics Association, told this correspondent at the World Trade Centers’ Association forum in New York some weeks back that the province offered a strategic location for companies keen to move to the Indo-China region.
“Binh Duong is a landlocked hub, and shipments are transported by rivers … we are campaigning to attract companies … Warbug Pincus, an international company with a global network of offices in many regions of the world, including Southeast Asia, has been assigned to expand our infrastructure; this along with port development will further boost our trade. Our railway system is being developed at a fast pace,” she said.
Some Vietnamese exhibitors at the Frankfurt show also said that port development was an important factor in bolstering Vietnam’s global position.
Foreign Investment
Vietnam has strengthened its role in the supply chain diversification strategy of multinational corporations – a move that also led to a surge in foreign investment last year. By relaxing regulations governing foreign ownership in listed companies, Vietnam appears as an attractive investment site for foreign investors.
Binh Duong has strong potential to become the region’s logistics hub. According to Huynh Dinh Thai Linh, the province had formed a chain of regional services with many logistics’ centers, along with river ports, warehouses and facilities for goods imported and exported.
Being landlocked, Binh Duong created a chain of regional logistics services connected with a system of 15 large-scale logistic centers, including three inland container depots and an international railway station serving import-export activities. It has also set up 10 river ports, 21 warehouses, 19 bonded warehouses, and two active CFS warehouses to complement production in industrial zones and clusters, facilitating distribution of goods to destinations in the region.
In private conversations Vietnamese businesspeople say that two free trade zones in Di An City and Bau Bang District will be established as part of the province’s new growth model. The free trade zones are planned to eventually be regional and international trade hubs, providing logistics and financial services, bolstering the province’s attractiveness for trade and manufacturing.
