Garment exports from Vietnam: changes in supplier strategies

This paper looks at Vietnam's changes in export performance and supplier strategies in the global garment value chains as a result of shift in international trade arrangements. Trade and competitive theories are used to analyse supplier reactions to the shifts. After the changes the Vietnamese garment industry has sustained its high level of export growth and gained import market share at its main US market although not as much as China. However, the growth export performance appears to be a mere volume expansion. There is little evidence that the suppliers are pursuing functional upgrading strategies besides the fact that they are flexible serving several customers at different markets.