The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has launched its Global Direct Entry (GDE) program in Vietnam, providing Vietnamese exporters, e-commerce brands, and third-party logistics providers with a faster and more cost-effective path to the U.S. market. The move is expected to reshape Southeast Asia’s supply chain dynamics, particularly for fast-moving consumer segments like apparel and footwear.
The launch of the GDE program—previously only available in countries like China and Singapore—comes amid a sharp increase in cross-border e-commerce shipments from Vietnam. As U.S. consumers increasingly seek alternatives to Chinese-made products, Vietnam’s manufacturing base has become a prime source for shoes, textiles, and private-label goods.
“Vietnam is no longer just a factory hub—it’s a launching pad for brands looking to access U.S. consumers directly,” said Andrew Miller, a logistics analyst at EastBridge Global. “With USPS GDE in place, fulfillment centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City can now inject parcels directly into the U.S. domestic postal network.”
How It Works
Under the GDE program, parcels are pre-labeled with USPS barcodes and customs declarations in Vietnam. Once cleared for export, they’re consolidated and flown to U.S. entry points—such as Los Angeles or Chicago—where they’re inducted directly into the USPS system, skipping multiple handling layers. This enables 4–8 day delivery windows to U.S. customers with full USPS tracking from origin to doorstep.
The program is designed for high-volume shippers and platforms like TikTok Shop, Shopee, and Shopify sellers who are looking to scale without building U.S.-based warehousing operations. For Vietnamese brands, this means less dependency on intermediaries and lower last-mile delivery costs.
Vietnam’s Fulfillment Ecosystem Gears Up
Leading fulfillment providers like SwiftHub, a tech-driven e-commerce logistics company, have already begun onboarding exporters onto the GDE pipeline. SwiftHub CEO Hoan Tran noted that demand surged after recent policy changes in the U.S. narrowed de minimis benefits from China.
“Vietnam’s moment has arrived. We’re now handling thousands of U.S.-bound apparel and shoe orders daily through USPS GDE—orders that previously would have gone through Hong Kong or Shenzhen,” said Vu. “We’ve integrated GDE into our WMS, allowing merchants to sync orders from Shopee and TikTok in real-time, apply USPS labels in bulk, and dispatch same-day from our hubs.”
Strategic Implications
The expansion of GDE to Vietnam underscores a broader trend: the localization of global e-commerce logistics. As geopolitical tensions and tariffs continue to reshape sourcing strategies, Southeast Asia’s role in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) economy is deepening.
With Vietnam boasting over $100 billion in annual apparel and footwear exports, even a small share of these goods shifting to direct fulfillment via USPS could upend long-standing models dominated by Chinese consolidators.
For U.S. consumers, the impact may be less visible—but significant: more brands, more SKUs, and more competitive pricing, all shipped with the reliability of USPS tracking.
“This is not just a shipping upgrade,” said Miller. “It’s an infrastructure shift.”