Vietnam’s wood and wood product exports have been experiencing positive growth in recent months, according to the General Department of Customs. In May 2025, the industry achieved a turnover of over $1.41 billion, an 11.6% increase compared to May 2024.
For the first five months of 2025, the export turnover of this commodity group reached nearly $6.81 billion, up 10.3% over the same period last year.
Vietnam’s wood and wood products are mainly exported to the US market, which accounts for 55.6% of the country’s total export turnover in this sector, reaching over $3.78 billion, up 13.5% compared to the previous year.
In May 2025, exports to this market reached $852.01 million, up 6.6% from April 2025 and up 25.9% from May 2024. Currently, the tax rate for Vietnamese wood products exported to the US is 0%.
The next two largest markets in terms of turnover are Japan, with $859.06 million, accounting for 12.6% and an increase of 27.4%; and China, with $707.3 million, accounting for 10.4%, but a decrease of 20.3%.
As the US accounts for more than half of Vietnam’s wood and wood product exports, shifting to other markets after the US government officially imposes countervailing duties is not an easy task. Each market has its own unique preferences and demands for wood products. Therefore, wood products manufactured for the US market may not be suitable for other markets. Moreover, the large volume of the US market makes it challenging for other markets to compensate.
At this point, wood industry enterprises are both rushing to deliver goods to the US and hoping that the official countervailing duty will be set at an acceptable level. Wood and wood products from Vietnam account for nearly half of the US’s total imports in this sector, so US wood importers will find it difficult to replace this source, especially since China, the second-largest supplier of imported wood to the US, is also facing high tax rates.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Commerce (DOC) received a petition to initiate an investigation into hardwood plywood and decorative plywood imported from Vietnam, China, and Indonesia for alleged dumping and subsidies. More than 130 Vietnamese companies are named in the petition.
The products under investigation mainly fall under HS codes 4412 and 9403, and the accused dumping margins for Vietnam range from 112.33% to 133.72%, the lowest among the three countries. DOC may use Indonesia as a surrogate country to calculate the dumping margin, considering Vietnam a non-market economy.
DOC will decide whether to initiate an investigation within 20 to 40 days of receiving the petition, which is by or on June 11, 2025. The ITC has 45 days to make a preliminary conclusion on injury. If the ITC concludes that there is no injury, the case will be terminated.
The Vietnamese agricultural sector aims to achieve an export turnover of $18 billion in wood and wood products in 2025, with the US remaining as the key market, and targets $25 billion by 2030. Additionally, by 2030, 100% of the forest area will be certified for sustainable forest management, and 20% of the natural forest area will be upgraded in quality.
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