Vietnam Footwear Exports hold steady as US and EU lead demand

Vietnam's leather and footwear sector exported US$19.54 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up 2.4% year on year, according to preliminary customs figures reported by the Vietnam News Agency in September. Footwear alone reached an estimated US$16.20 billion, up less than 1%, while handbags, suitcases and umbrellas grew faster, rising about 12% to US$3.34 billion.

The US and EU remain the anchor markets

The United States stayed the largest buyer, taking US$6.46 billion of footwear and US$1.55 billion of bags, suitcases and umbrellas over the eight months. The EU ranked second at nearly US$5 billion, up about 4%. Within Europe the picture was mixed: shipments to France rose about 10% and to Denmark about 33%, while exports to Germany fell about 5%. Exports to Japan and China declined.

Monthly results were uneven. August exports of more than US$2.45 billion were down 9% from July but up 3% from August 2025. To reach its full-year target of US$29–30 billion, the sector needs to average more than US$2.5 billion a month from September to December. Foreign-invested companies remain the backbone of the industry, with more than US$15.5 billion of the eight-month total. The General Statistics Office lists footwear among the seven product groups that each exceeded US$10 billion in exports in the first nine months of 2026.

Tariffs and origin rules in focus

Since 24 July 2026, most goods from Vietnam entering the US carry an additional 12.5% duty under Section 301, which replaced a temporary 10% surcharge that expired the same day. Some products are exempt under annexes to the USTR notice, so the real impact depends on each product's tariff classification.

For Europe, the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) remains an important tool. Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade has reported that nearly all footwear exports to the EU are shipped with certificates of origin, and the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso) has described the agreement's footwear origin rule, based on 40% value added in Vietnam, as more lenient than many other agreements.

What this means for buyers?

• Vietnam remains a large, established base for footwear and bags, with most of its output going to the US and EU.
• Bags and small leather goods are the faster-growing category this year, a sign of expanding capacity in that segment.
• US buyers should build the 12.5% duty into landed-cost estimates unless a product is exempt. Ask your customs broker to confirm the HTS code and exemption status.
• EU buyers should confirm early that a factory can supply the origin documents needed to claim EVFTA preferences.
• With factories pushing toward year-end targets, plan sampling and production windows early.

Planning to source from Vietnam? IDC Sourcing can share a free shortlist of vetted factories: hellosourcing@idc-bim.com | WhatsApp +84 903 86 2244.