Vietnam's Minister of Trade suggests Walmart build 'strategic purchasing center'

Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has suggested the world's biggest retailer Walmart "research and build a strategic purchasing center" in the Southeast Asian country.

Within the framework of his working visit to the United States, Dien had a meeting with leaders of the U.S. giant on Wednesday.

He also suggested Walmart expand its purchase of environmentally-friendly and high value-added Vietnamese products.

The Minister said he acknowledges Walmart's contribution in promoting Vietnamese goods to the global market, and asked for more coordination to enhance supplier capacity through sharing technical standards and training.

Discussing the difficulties Walmart is facing in doing business in Vietnam, the Minister affirmed that he will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to review and perfect policies, ensuring transparency and conformity with international practices, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's news portal reported.

Information about the difficulties was not disclosed.

Vietnam is one of Walmart’s most important sourcing markets in Asia and this role will continue to be enhanced, Aly Ansari, senior director of Walmart Global Sourcing, said on June 6, 2024.

In a seperate meeting with Nike, Minister Dien said he highly appreciates the group's responsible and long-term presence in Vietnam, home to about 50% of Nike's global footwear output.

Dien shared his concern about the potential impact of the U.S. tariff policy on Nike's global supply chain and suggested "a number of support directions for Nike's operations in Vietnam". The news portal did not mention details of the suggestion.

"Vietnam does not consider Nike simply as an investor, but a strategic partner that accompanies the country's sustainable development and international integration," he added.

Vietnam is currently Nike’s largest supplier of both footwear and apparel, accounting for 50% and 28% of the brand’s global outputs, respectively, according to the U.S. firm’s 2024 annual report.

As of end-January 2025, 98 Nike suppliers operated in Vietnam, with a total of 162 factories and 493,000 workers. Major Nike suppliers in the country include Huali, Taekwang, Feng Tay, Chang Shin, Pou Chen, Ching Luh, Far Eastern, Paiho, Avery Dennison, and Regina Miracle.

Emphasizing the role of the U.S. business community in the context of Reciprocal Trade Agreement negotiations entering a key stage, the Minister called on Nike and Walmart to voice their strong support and promote the negotiations, so as the two countries can reach "a sustainable, balanced and fair agreement".

The Minister noted that Vietnam not only hopes that Walmart and Nike will continue developing successfully in the Vietnamese market, but also considers the two corporations as "strategic partners in efforts to promote the building of a sustainable, flexible, transparent and green supply chain, contributing to strengthening the two countries' deep economic connectivity".

In a letter dated April 29 sent to the White House, major footwear and apparel brands, including Nike and Adidas which outsource a large portion of their output from Vietnam, asked President Donald Trump for a tariff exemption due to concerns over looming cost surges and business shutdown.

The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said that Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs pose an “existential threat” to the footwear industry. The letter was signed by 76 footwear brands, including Nike, Adidas, Skechers, and Under Armour.