Vietnam's recent economic slowdown highlights the underlying strains on its economy and government institutions, and raises questions about the country's long-term development goals. Vietnam's economy grew by only 4.14% in the second quarter of 2023, the country's lowest Q2 growth since 2011. While an improvement from the first quarter's 3.3% growth, the data indicates the economy is falling well short of the government's official 6.5% growth target. The government further anticipates that June exports will have declined by 11.4% from 2022, due in large part to decreased textile manufacturing in the south and electronics manufacturing in the north. In recent weeks, Vietnam has implemented measures to spur growth, including cutting interest rates four times since March (most recently on June 23). The government will also reduce the value-added tax rate from 10% to 8% from July 2023 through January 2024. But these stimulus efforts will struggle to compensate for strong...
