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FT Confidential Research

Hanoi's dependence on imported textiles will cause trade woes

Why Vietnam must do more than cut and sew

A "Made in Vietnam" label is visible on a shirt in a display case in the lobby of President Donald Trump's Trump Tower building in New York, U.S.   © Reuters

Vietnam is on track to become the world's second-biggest exporter of textiles and clothing this year, but it is too soon to celebrate.

Most Vietnamese clothing exports are processed from imported high-value textiles. As the country's trade surplus with the US balloons, Vietnam will need to move up the value chain by developing homegrown textile manufacturing if it is to diversify into new markets and escape Washington's ire.

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