Trump’s Immigration Restrictions Could Dampen Remittances to Vietnam: Expert

Remittance inflows to Vietnam could dwindle due to possible twists and turns of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.


Remittance inflows to Vietnam could fall if President Trump tightens immigration policies. Photo: Internet

Inward remittances to Vietnam could decrease if U.S. President Donald Trump further twists his immigration policies, financial expert Nguyen Tri Hieu told national broadcaster Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

According to government statistics, remittances sent home by overseas Vietnamese increased steadily over the past two decades to a record high of $13.2 billion in 2015 before plunging to $9 billion last year.

Nearly half of the 4.5 million Vietnamese living overseas reside in the United States and send about 60% of the total remittances home. Remittances from the U.S account for 4% of Vietnam’s GDP.

The fall in remittances to Vietnam was mainly caused by Vietnam cutting interest rates on USD-denominated deposits to 0%, discouraging overseas Vietnamese to send money back, according to a Vietnamese economist.

Economist Deepali Bhargava from Credit Suisse last week estimated that remittances to Vietnam could drop by 0.4% of GDP if Trump implements stricter immigration policies.

U.S. restrictions on immigration could dampen investment by overseas Vietnamese in the home country, Hieu added.

Tuan Minh / BizLIVE