A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at Hai Phong port, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

By Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio

HANOI, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Vietnam's trade surplus with the United States, its main market, rose to $121.6 billion in the first 11 months of the year, official data showed on Saturday, as exports surged despite U.S. tariffs imposed in August.

The Southeast Asian nation is still in talks for a trade deal with Washington but has so far largely shrugged off U.S. 20% duties on its goods, which the Trump administration imposed to cut its huge trade gap with the country.

Exports to the United States rose year-on-year by 22.5% in November, outpacing shipments to the rest of the world, which increased by 15.1%, according to Vietnam's statistics agency.

The surge in exports to the U.S. translated into a record trade surplus, which in the January-November period already far exceeds the reading for all of 2024, when it hit $104.5 billion, according to Vietnamese data that is usually more conservative than U.S. figures.

The latest U.S. customs data is for August.

However, month-on-month, Vietnam's November exports fell 7.1% to $39.07 billion, and shipments to the United States went down by 7.3% after a decline of 2.2% in October. November was the fourth consecutive month that month-on-month exports to the U.S. have fallen.

Vietnam said last month it was working to sign a trade agreement with the U.S. soon, after the two countries in October said they had agreed to a framework for the deal.

Vietnam in November recorded an overall trade surplus of $1.09 billion, down from $2.6 billion in October.

For the first 11 months of this year, exports rose 16.1% to $430.14 billion, while imports were up 18.4% to $409.61 billion.

That resulted in a trade surplus of $20.53 billion, driven by a positive balance with the United States, the European Union and Japan, which more than offset deficits with China and South Korea.

The trade deficit with China in the January-November period rose 38.1% year-on-year to $104.3 billion.

Separately, consumer prices in November rose 3.58% from a year earlier, the data showed, while industrial production climbed 10.8%.

(Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Sam Holmes)