Vietnam became the 150th member of the WTO in 2007, and upon its accession promised to fully comply with WTO agreements on Customs Valuation, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). The United States and Vietnam concluded a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in 2000, which entered into force in 2001.

Vietnam is a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and subsequently, a member of ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). As part of AFTA, ASEAN members (including Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia) are committed to making this region a competitive trading area. Together with the ASEAN countries, Vietnam has also signed trade pacts with PRC, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, India, Chile and Japan. It signed a bilateral trade agreement with Korea in 2015, as well as a trade agreement with the Russian-led Customs Union block. In 2019, Vietnam signed a free trade agreement with the EU. This agreement came into effect in August 2020. Vietnam is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the EFTA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland).

In addition, Vietnam signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific (CPTPP) with 10 countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Singapore. The agreement officially took effect from January 14, 2019 for Vietnam.

In May 2022, the United States launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Through this initiative, the IPEF partners aim to contribute to cooperation, stability, prosperity, development, and peace within the region.  This framework will offer tangible benefits that fuel economic activity and investment, promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and benefit workers and consumers across the region. The launch began discussions of future negotiations on the following pillars: (1) Trade; (2) Supply Chains; (3) Clean Energy, Decarbonization, and Infrastructure; and (4) Tax and Anti-Corruption.