Vietnam’s textile and clothing manufacturers set a goal to become one of the top five exporting nations by 2020, according to a recent report, Textile Outlook International from Textiles Intelligence. According to Money magazine, Vietnam is now one of Asia’s most open economies, with two-way trade valued at 160 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2006, more than twice the contemporary ratio for China and four times the ratio for India. Between 2005 and 2011, the added value rate of Vietnam’s textile and clothing exports increased from 30.2 percent to 47.8 percent.

The government plans to support growth in textile exports by establishing incentives for foreign direct investment, as well as continuing to secure free trade agreements, such as its current membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Asean-China Free Trade Area, bilateral free trade agreements with Israel and Japan, and negotiations to become part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Source: Textiles Intelligence