At the end of 2025, Vietnam faced pressure to achieve a GDP growth target of over 8% while simultaneously rushing to implement a campaign to rebuild homes for flood-affected communities ahead of the Lunar New Year. At the same time, concerns arising from global geopolitical volatility have made economic models and linkages that were once stable and long regarded as benchmarks in international teaching and research, less applicable to real-world conditions.
The year 2025 closed with many positive signals as Vietnam’s economy recovered solidly, with key macroeconomic indicators over the first 11 months exceeding targets, reaffirming the effectiveness of policies aimed at economic stability and the promotion of production, exports, and investment. Within these overall achievements, Vietnam’s Textile and Garment industry made a significant contribution. As a labor-intensive sector with relatively low resource dependence, it ranks among the world’s top 3 countries in export value and is also among the top 3 in terms of total domestic export turnover.
However, the industry was also one of the sectors most severely affected by the United States’ reciprocal tariff policies in 2025. To clarify these impacts and to help shape appropriate responses for the 2026 period, the monograph “The Global and Vietnamese Textile and Garment Industry in 2026 Amid the Haze of Reciprocal Tariffs,” edited by Dr. Le Tien Truong, offers a comprehensive and multidimensional perspective across 8 chapters (organized into 4 thematic groups), enabling readers to gain in-depth understanding and make decisions grounded in practical realities.
The authors clearly analyze the trade – political context of the United States’ reciprocal tariff policy, which was enacted under a national emergency framework to address a trade deficit that has endured for decades. As such, the executive order rests on a solid legal foundation, is difficult to reverse, and has generated far-reaching impacts on both bilateral and multilateral trade relations with the United States.
Despite facing considerable international opposition, after more than half a year of implementation, the policy has been applied in practice and produced comprehensive effects, with Vietnam being no exception. The Vietnamese government responded early, proactively engaging in high-level dialogue with the United States and developing response scenarios.
On this basis, the book assesses the impacts of the tariff policy on economic outcomes in 2025, provides forecasts for 2026, with particular emphasis on its effects on the global textile and garment market – especially the U.S. market – and offers in-depth analysis of key industry products such as cotton, yarn, and fabric.
Beyond the direct impacts of reciprocal tariffs on Vietnam’s Textile and Garment industry, the book also analyzes the effects of consumer trends in major markets and dynamics in global financial and monetary systems affecting the industry. One important focus is the assessment of the two-sided impact of credit cap policies: expanding credit limits benefits enterprises with strong business fundamentals, while weaker firms face heightened risks. Based on this analysis, the book highlights the need to clearly define the roles of the Group and Industry Associations in the new context – not only in supporting enterprises to retain and expand markets, but also in accompanying them through restructuring processes to ensure survival and growth. Development through linkage and cooperation is identified as an inevitable trend to overcome crises, also highlights the pressing issue of the lack of specialized, product-based General Corporations within the Group.
The book’s recommendations invite readers to continue reflecting on how to translate them into concrete actions within their own roles and responsibilities. While there are market-related issues over which managers cannot directly influence demand growth, they can adopt flexible approaches and diversify markets. The recommendation to continue investing in productivity enhancement is arguably the most capital-intensive, requiring the largest level of investment and the most comprehensive coordination across multiple issues, such as: identifying bottlenecks, assessing the impacts of green development, the circular economy.
Upon closing 226 pages, the initial concerns are no longer vague uncertainties about direction but are transformed into a clear call to action to “Illuminating the Path”, to see the road ahead clearly rather than merely hoping that the “haze” will soon lift. The book serves as a guidepost and provides essential input data, while the final decisions remain in the hands of those in charge. It is hoped that readers will appreciate this book as a trusted companion for executives in the textile and garment industry throughout 2026.
By Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien
Member of the National Assembly, 12th, 13th, and 14th Term
Former Head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group
