What each term actually allocates
EXW (Ex Works): you take the goods at the factory gate; export clearance, trucking, port handling, ocean freight, import clearance and delivery are all yours. Maximum control, maximum workload — sensible when your forwarder consolidates multiple Vietnamese suppliers into one container. FOB (Free On Board, named port): the factory trucks, export-clears and loads the container on board; risk transfers at the ship's rail. You book ocean freight and insurance. DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): the supplier delivers to your door with duties paid — and prices every risk, markup and duty assumption into a number you cannot decompose.
Why FOB wins for container programs
Three reasons. First, ocean freight is where forwarders compete — a buyer-controlled contract on the transpacific eastbound typically beats a supplier's pass-through rate. Second, insurance: you insure at your declared values with your claims process. Third, cost transparency: an FOB price cleanly separates factory value from logistics, which you need for duty calculation, cost negotiations and program comparisons. Vietnamese export factories quote FOB routinely; LIPHOCO's convention is FOB for full containers (16+ tons) and EXW with freight quoted separately for smaller lots.
The DDP trap in the 2026 tariff environment
Section 232 duty on derivative products is calculated on steel content value — a declaration the importer of record must be able to defend. Under DDP, the supplier (or their agent) is the importer of record, controls the declaration, and absorbs errors until customs disagrees, at which point cargo delays and penalty exposure land on your supply chain anyway. Post-entry audits have made 'duty paid by someone else' a false comfort. Keep import clearance on your side with your own broker.
Practical setup for a first Vietnam program
Contract FOB with the load port named (Cat Lai for Ho Chi Minh City-area factories; Cai Mep for direct US East Coast services). Appoint a forwarder with weekly transpacific consolidations. Buy marine cargo insurance at 110% of CIF value. File ISF through your broker. And require the supplier's packing list, commercial invoice and steel-content declaration 7 days before vessel departure so your broker pre-clears without demurrage drama.
Frequently Asked Questions
FOB (named Vietnamese port) for full-container orders: the factory handles trucking and export clearance while you control ocean freight and insurance. EXW makes sense for smaller lots your forwarder consolidates with other suppliers. The common convention is FOB for loads of 16+ tons and EXW plus separately quoted freight below that.
Under DDP the supplier acts as importer of record and controls the customs declaration — including the steel-content value that drives Section 232 duty. You cannot audit the math, and declaration errors surface as cargo delays and penalty exposure in your supply chain. Keeping import clearance with your own broker preserves control.
Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City) handles most southern-Vietnam export containers with feeder connections; Cai Mep-Thi Vai deep-water terminals offer direct US services that cut transit time, particularly to the East Coast. Your forwarder will route based on carrier schedules and your destination.