Employing a panel gravity model and Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimation technique, this study documents the effect of double taxation treaties on the bilateral trade of Vietnam with ASEAN member states, thereby making an extensive comparison with its EU partner countries. Our findings indicate the significant contributions of the tax treaties to Vietnam’s trade performance, not exclusively with ASEAN but also with EU partner countries. Nevertheless, under some circumstances, the conclusion of tax treaties seems ineffective in strengthening export capacity or narrowing trade deficits for Vietnam. This is primarily due to the unidirectional movement of trade associated with tax treaty conditions, viz., imports from the advanced economies into Vietnam. Besides, the role of tax treaties as a dynamism of Vietnam’s export growth remains opaque during recent years.

It is an unresolved issue whether insertion of emerging market firms into global value chains (GVCs) is a better way of internationalisation than developing own export products and independent sales channels–as has been the ‘conventional’ internationalisation path of firms from mature market economies. On the basis of unique firm survey data from Vietnam, we compare two groups of exporters in terms of ‘global connectivity’–that is, how well a firm can connect directly to global markets–and economic and strategic export performance. One group of Vietnamese firms includes basically independent exporters that are only weakly connected to GVCs. The other group consists of original equipment manufacturers (OEM) exporters, characterised by high dependency on GVCs. Using ANOVA, SEM and regression analyses, we find that the two groups of firms differ significantly as regards global connectivity and economic and strategic export performance, but less so in terms of the relationship between global connectivity and export performance.