Vietnam Named in List of Major Foreign Holders of U.S. Treasury Securities in 2021

According to the Federal Reserve and U.S. Department of the Treasury, foreign countries held a total of 7.03 trillion U.S. dollars in U.S. treasury securities as of June 2021.

Major foreign holders of U.S. treasury securities as of June 2021. (Photo: Statista)

In 2020, the United States had a total public national debt of 26.95 trillion U.S. dollars, an amount that has been rising steadily, particularly since 2008. In 2019, the total interest expense on debt held by the public of the United States reached 404 billion U.S. dollars, while 170 billion U.S. dollars in interest expense were intragovernmental debt holdings. Total outlays of the U.S. government were 4.45 trillion U.S. dollars in 2019. By 2025, spending will reach 5.45 trillion U.S. dollars, according to Statista.

A port in Vietnam (Photo: Baoquocte)

Vietnam ranked 32nd

Owning US$39.2 billion in U.S. securities, Vietnam is ranked 32nd on the list. Over the period of 5 years, Vietnamese lend to the U.S. has increased by more than three times.

According to analysts, the debt does not reflect the entire situation of Vietnam’s forex reserves. It shows the volume of the US government bonds put in custody at banks in the US.

According to Vietnam Customs, in the first half of 2021, the US remained Vietnam’s largest export market with a turnover of US$53.6 billion, up 37 percent compared to the same period last year.

On July 19, 2021, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reached an agreement with the US regarding Vietnam’s currency practices, in which Vietnam pledged not to deliberately engage in any competitive devaluation of the Vietnamese dong, as well as be more transparent about its monetary policy and exchange rates. The SBV has reiterated that it did not use the exchange rate to create an unfair advantage in international trade, but rather “to promote macroeconomic stability and to control inflation.”

To read the full report click here.