Washington’s move to ease export controls could transform Viet Nam from a chip assembly hub into a manufacturing partner and a strategic alternative to China, Rest of World reported.

According to the website, President Donald Trump said on February 20 he would direct relevant agencies to remove Viet Nam from a strategic export control list that currently restricts its access to advanced technologies from US companies. He also reiterated Washington’s commitment to supporting a “strong, independent, self-reliant and prosperous” Viet Nam.

Sujai Shivakumar, director of the Renewing American Innovation Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Rest of World that the decision signaled a transition for Viet Nam within the semiconductor supply chain from a back-end assembly hub to an upstream manufacturing and design partner. He said the US was effectively clearing the path for Viet Nam to access high-end American tools and software essential for advanced chipmaking.

He stressed that the move was part of Washington’s broader strategy to deepen ties with Viet Nam in the Indo-Pacific region.

In the semiconductor sector, on January 16, 2026, Viet Nam's military-run telecom group Viettel broke ground on its first semiconductor fabrication plant at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park, aiming to produce 32-nanometer chips, with trial runs planned for 2027 and full operations in 2028.

The website noted that rather than chasing the most advanced chips, which are now produced using 2- or 3-nanometer processes, Viet Nam is focused on building an industry from scratch.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Eduard Stiphout, a senior vice president at ASML, the Dutch company that makes the machines needed to produce advanced chips.

During a subsequent working session with Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan, Stiphout said ASML was studying the possibility of expanding its supply chain in Viet Nam, while considering establishing an official presence and supplying equipment to potential customers in the country, thereby contributing to the formation and development of a domestic semiconductor ecosystem.

John Neuffer, President and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) based in Washington, expressed his impression of Viet Nam’s development pace during a January visit to Hanoi for a chip conference. He reminded that many SIA members, including Intel, Samsung Electronics, Qualcomm, Amkor Technology, and Marvell Technology, have already established and expanded operations in Viet Nam.

Over the past year, Qualcomm opened its third-largest global R&D centre in Viet Nam. Marvell Technology also inaugurated three new offices simultaneously in the country, making Viet Nam its third-largest global R&D hub after the United States and India.

In international media coverage, Viet Nam’s image is shifting. Once seen primarily as a low-cost outsourcing and semiconductor assembly hub, the country is increasingly viewed as a strategically important link in a reconfiguring global supply chain, edging closer to a role in one of the world’s most valuable industries.

Source: VOV