The Trump administration plans to appoint a new U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, selecting a nominee focused on tackling “imbalanced” trade relations. The move comes as Hanoi’s goods trade surplus with Washington has recently exceeded that of China, amid ongoing and unresolved tariff negotiations between the two countries.
On Sunday, current ambassador Marc Knapper will end his tenure after being abruptly recalled before Christmas alongside several other career diplomats. His designated successor, career diplomat Jennifer Wicks McNamara, who is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation after being nominated in October, has said the trade relationship needs rectifying.
The Southeast Asian nation reported record exports to the United States last year despite 20% U.S. tariffs since August, generating a surplus of nearly $134 billion, according to Vietnamese government data, which are more conservative than U.S. figures.
Vietnam Overtakes China
The latest seasonally adjusted U.S. data shows Vietnam’s January to October trade surplus in goods reached $144.2 billion, already surpassing its full-year 2024 record.
Crucially, Vietnam’s goods trade surplus was higher than China’s in the second and third quarters of 2025, the latest available U.S. data shows. Among U.S. partners, only Mexico had a larger gap in those quarters.
Vietnam’s rise is closely linked to a sharp decline in China’s trade with the United States: Beijing’s goods trade surplus nearly halved to $41.4 billion in the third quarter from the same quarter in 2024, whereas Vietnam’s rose by about 43% in the same period to $44.8 billion, according to seasonally adjusted U.S. data.
China’s trade surplus with the U.S. still remains higher than Vietnam’s for the full January-October period.
Meanwhile, China’s exports to Vietnam boomed last year, Vietnamese data show.
The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Vietnam of being a waypoint for Chinese goods directed to the United States, which face lower duties when carrying a “Made in Vietnam” label.
Illegally transshipped goods are subject to U.S. tariffs of 40%, but the White House has not yet indicated its criteria to determine what can be considered as illegal transshipment.
(With inputs from Reuters)
