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President Donald Trump said he had reached a trade deal with Vietnam following weeks of intense diplomacy between the nations and ahead of a deadline next week that would have seen higher tariffs imposed on the country’s imports.
A 20% tariff will be placed on Vietnamese exports to the US, with a 40% levy on any goods deemed to be transshipped through the country, Trump said in a social-media post on Wednesday. Trump said that Vietnam had agreed to drop all levies on US imports.
“In other words, they will “OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,” meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff,” Trump wrote. The president said he had secured the deal after discussions with Communist Party chief To Lam.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Trump pledged to continue cooperating “in resolving issues affecting bilateral trade relations” during the leaders’ call Wednesday and that To Lam proposed that the US recognize Vietnam as a “market economy and remove export restrictions on certain high-tech products.”
Vietnam was the sixth-biggest supplier of US imports last year, sending goods worth almost $137 billion, according to Census Bureau data.
Its trade surplus with the US was the third-largest globally on a country basis behind only China and Mexico.
The higher 40% rate announced Wednesday would be imposed on goods deemed to be “transshipping” — where components from China and possibly other nations are routed through Vietnam or subject to only minimal final assembly before being exported to the US.
US exports to Vietnam were worth just $15 billion last year. Trump touted the prospect of a boost in auto sales as a result of the deal.
“It is my opinion that the SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle, which does so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam,” he wrote on Truth Social.
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