Despite higher prices, consumer spending has remained high in the United States, however, this may be about the change, CNN is reporting. High housing costs, and huge levels of debt, along with COVID-era savings almost gone, are making it likely that US consumers will need to slow down spending-wise.
Why it matters: The US is Vietnam’s biggest export market, particularly for consumer goods like clothing and electronics. If American consumers are buying less than Vietnam is will also likely be exporting less. What’s more, Vietnam’s exports have already experienced a marked year-on-year decline. Vietnam exported a little over US$109 billion worth of goods to the USA in 2022 but in the first ten months of 2023 it exported just US$79 billion worth of goods to the world’s biggest economy.