Vietnam And EU Elevate Ties As US Tariffs Redefine Global Trade

Vietnam and the European Union on Thursday elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level in Vietnam’s diplomatic framework, as both sides adjust trade strategies amid global financial disruptions linked to U.S. tariff pressure.

The upgrade places the EU on equal diplomatic footing with the United States, China and Russia. The announcement was made during a visit to Hanoi by European Council President António Costa.

“At a moment when the international rules-based order is under threat from multiple sides, we need to stand side by side as reliable and predictable partners,” Costa said, noting that the partnership aims at “developing spheres of shared prosperity.”

Costa’s visit to Vietnam followed the European Union’s conclusion of a free trade agreement with India earlier this week, ending nearly two decades of negotiations.

Vietnamese President Luong Cuong described the decision as a “historic milestone.”

The move comes shortly after Vietnam re-elected Communist Party General Secretary To Lam as the country’s top leader, reaffirming his agenda of economic expansion driven by wide-ranging reforms.

Vietnam has been one of the major winners of globalisation, growing into a key export hub for electronics, garments and consumer products as multinational companies shifted production away from China.

This export-led model has boosted incomes and reshaped the economy, but the country’s sizeable and persistent trade surplus has attracted criticism, particularly from the United States and increasingly from Europe, where officials have raised concerns over market access.

For the EU, the upgraded partnership enhances access to one of Asia’s fastest-growing manufacturing centres and supports efforts to diversify supply chains as global trade tensions intensify.

Bilateral trade between Vietnam and the EU reached more than $66.8bn in the first 11 months of 2025, a 6.6% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. The EU is Vietnam’s fourth-largest trading partner, third-largest export destination and fifth-largest source of imports, while Vietnam remains the EU’s biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam aims to sustain growth and achieve high-income status by 2045. As part of that ambition, it is actively seeking to expand into new markets to reduce dependence on the United States, which currently absorbs about 30% of its exports. Vietnam and the EU signed their free trade agreement in 2020.