EU imports $20 bln of high-tech products from Vietnam in 2022

The European Union spent EUR18 billion ($19.55 billion) on importing high-tech products from Vietnam in 2022, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistics office.

Electronics-telecommunications items accounted for the largest portion of EUR13 billion, followed by computers and office machines with EUR3 billion, and scientific instruments with EUR1 billion, among others.

Last year, the EU’s import expenditure on high-tech products grew 22% year-on-year to $482 billion. Vietnam was the sixth-biggest exporter of high-tech goods to the EU, accounting for 4% of the total.

Mainland China led the way with EUR183 billion, the U.S. with EUR91 billion, Switzerland with EUR30 billion, Taiwan with EUR23 billion, and the UK with EUR20 billion.

The EU was Vietnam's fifth-biggest trade partner in 2022 with a total value of $62.4 billion, according to Vietnam’s General Statistics Office. Of which, Vietnam’s exports to the bloc increased 17.4% year-on-year to $47.1 billion, while spending on imports went down 9.4% to $15.3 billion.

In the first four months of 2023, the EU remained in the fifth position with an import-export value of $18.1 billion. Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of $9.3 billion with the EU in the period with an export revenue of $13.7 billion, down 14.1% year-on-year; and an import expenditure of $4.4 billion, down 17%.

Previously known as a center for manufacturing garments and shoes, Vietnam has emerged as a production hub for global electronic giants. It is now home to facilities owned by Samsung, LG, Intel, Amkor Technology, Panasonic, Canon, Foxconn, Pegatron, Goertek, Luxshare, Wistron, Foster Electric, among others.

U.S.-based Amkor Technology Inc., a global semiconductor product packaging and test services provider, expects its Vietnam mega facility to begin first-phase manufacturing in the fourth quarter of this year. The factory will be among the biggest operated by Amkor globally, covering 1.9 million square feet (over 176,500 square meters) in the northern province of Bac Ninh, Amkor said in its latest report on this year's first quarter.

In March, LG Electronics said it is ramping up research and development in Vietnam at a new R&D facility in Hanoi. The new center focuses on software development and inspections of in-vehicle products, including telematics, audio, video and navigation devices, LG said.

Samsung Electronics inaugurated its largest Southeast Asia research and development center in Hanoi in December 2022. The 16-story facility has a floor area of 79,511 square meters where 2,200 researchers will carry out projects for mobile devices, network communication technologies, and software, according to the Korean tech giant. Samsung wants to turn its Vietnam R&D center, with $220 million in investment, into a leading global hub, Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho said.

Apple’s biggest contractor Foxconn will invest another $100 million into Vietnam as the Taiwanese electronic giant pushes ahead with efforts to shift more production away from mainland China as part of its global supply chain diversification. The new investment will be for an electronic components plant in WHA Industrial Zone 1 in the central province of Nghe An.