GDP Growth: Vietnam Raises 2025 Target Despite Challenges From The United States

Ministry Of Finance Confidently Raises Q1/2025 GDP Growth Target Despite Fluctuations From US Tariffs

At the regular government press conference in March, held on the afternoon of April 6, 2025, Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung announced important information regarding the adjustment of Vietnam’s Q1/2025 GDP growth target. Accordingly, the new growth scenario is set 0.27% higher than the initial scenario, following Conclusion 123-KL/TW.

Complex context: The United States imposes retaliatory tariffs affecting the global economy

Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Trần Văn Sơn, the Government Spokesperson, provided information about the volatile global situation in Q1/2025. In particular, the sudden announcement by the United States of a high retaliatory tariff policy has led to escalating trade tensions, potentially causing disruptions to global trade and supply chains, negatively impacting global economic growth and stability.  

Vietnam Proactively Implements 5 Key Task Groups

In that context, Vietnam has focused on drastically implementing 5 key task groups to respond and promote development:

• Promote economic growth: Prioritizing growth targets.
• Reorganize the organizational structure: Implementing the directives of the Central Steering Committee.
• Finalize documents for the 14th National Party Congress: Preparing for Party Congresses at all levels and the 14th National Party Congress.
• Implement important Resolutions: Resolution 57 on Science and Technology, Innovation, Digital Transformation, and Resolution 59 on International Integration.
• Prepare for the celebration of major holidays.

Impressive Result: Q1/2025 GDP Growth Reaches 6.93% – Highest In 6 Years  

Thanks to the drastic involvement of the entire political system, the people, and businesses, Vietnam’s socio-economic situation in Q1/2025 has achieved remarkable results. Deputy Minister Đỗ Thành Trung proudly announced that the Q1/2025 GDP growth reached 6.93%, the highest Q1 growth rate in the 2020-2025 period. Notably, growth was quite even across all three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing, and services.  

The 2025 growth target remains firmly at 8%

Although the Q1/2025 result is higher than the initial level, it is still lower than the scenario after Conclusion 123-KL/TW (the target for the whole year is above 8%). However, the Prime Minister remains determined to maintain the growth target for the entire year at 8% or higher.  

Ministry Of Finance Develops Challenging Growth Scenarios For Q2, Q3, and Q4

Based on that, the Ministry of Finance has developed growth scenarios for the remaining quarters of 2025:

• Q2: Growth target of approximately 8.3%
• Q3: Growth target of approximately 8.3%
• Q4: Growth target of approximately 8.4%

This scenario is 0.27% higher than the initial scenario and is assessed by Deputy Minister Đỗ Thành Trung as “very challenging but there is reason for us to be able to achieve it.”  

Growth Drivers Come From Manufacturing And Services

The Deputy Minister of Finance pointed out that the manufacturing sector continues to be the main driver of growth, with an impressive growth rate of 9.28% in Q1 and an expected rate of around 10.1% in Q2. In addition, solutions to promote the disbursement of public investment capital and focus on the tourism and services sectors are also expected to contribute significantly to growth. In Q1, Vietnam welcomed over 6 million visitors, showing the great potential of this sector.  

Strong FDI Attraction Growth In Q1/2025

Another bright spot of Vietnam’s economy in Q1/2025 is the strong growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction. Total newly registered capital, adjusted capital, and capital contributions and share purchases reached nearly 11 billion USD, an increase of approximately 35% compared to the same period in 2024. Realized capital reached 5.16 billion USD, 5.1 times higher than the same period, of which realized FDI specifically for investment reached about 4.96 billion USD, an increase of 72% compared to the same period and mainly concentrated in the manufacturing sector.  

The Target For FDI Attraction For The Entire Year 2025 Remains High

Although international organizations have cautious assessments of the global economic outlook and US tax policies may affect investor sentiment, the Ministry of Finance still sets a target of attracting 38-40 billion USD in FDI and 27-28 billion USD in realized capital for 2025. Deputy Minister Đỗ Thành Trung believes that with the efforts of the Government, Vietnam will continue to gain the trust of investors and businesses.  

Conclusion

Despite the challenges from the global economic situation and the tax policies of the United States, Vietnam has shown proactiveness and determination in maintaining its economic growth momentum. The impressive Q1/2025 GDP growth result is evidence of the efforts of the entire political system, the people, and the business community. With the challenging growth scenarios developed by the Ministry of Finance, Vietnam is aiming for a growth target of 8% or higher in 2025.