Vietnam’s footwear exports exceeded US$10.7 billion in the first 6 months of 2024, up 8.8 percent over the same period last year, according to the General Department of Customs.
The surge in exports has been largely driven by the elimination of import duties through various free trade agreements. When the EVFTA came into effect in 2020, for example, tariff lines on Vietnamese footwear exported to the EU reduced by 37 percent, with any remaining tariffs to be eliminated progressively by 2027.
Similarly, the CPTPP has also facilitated growth in footwear exports. For example, before the CPTPP was signed in 2019, Vietnam held only a 19 percent import share of the footwear market in Canada. However, this surged to approximately 26 percent in 2022, reaching US$832 million, according to Trade Map. Despite a noticeable decrease in value in 2023, just US$717 million, Vietnamese footwear still accounted for 27 percent of Canada’s footwear imports.
In 2023, Vietnam was the world’s second-largest footwear exporter, generating US$20,2 billion in revenue.