Washington (TDI): On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced a significant trade agreement with Vietnam that will have the United States applying a reduced tariff of 20% against Vietnamese imports, down from the previously established 46% tariff set to take effect next week.
The agreement was reached after tough negotiations, as countries like Japan and the European Union also push for similar agreements with Washington in an attempt to prevent future tariff increases under Trump’s “reciprocal trade” policy.
Under the terms of the agreement, Vietnam has agreed to remove all tariffs on American goods, giving US businesses what Trump described as “total access” to Vietnamese markets.
Sharing the news on social media, Trump wrote that Vietnam would do something that they had never done before, open its Markets to the United States.“This means we’ll be able to sell our products into Vietnam with zero tariffs,” he added, calling it a big win for US exporters.
Trump referred to the agreement as“Great Deal of Cooperation”, emphasizing its tough stance on “trans-shipping”, a method often used to reroute Chinese goods through Vietnam to avoid existing U.S. tariffs. Under the new rules, any such goods will now face a 40% tariff.
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Peter Navarro, the senior trade advisor to Trump, supported the proposal, stating that about a third of Vietnamese exports to the United States contain Chinese products concealed by the practice of trans-shipping.
Vietnam General Secretary To Lam personally welcomed the accord in a phone call to Trump, also inviting him to visit in the future.
The Trump organization and local business Kinh Bac City Development recently announced that they intend to invest $1.5 billion in Vietnam, including hotels, golf courses, and a possible Trump Tower in Ho Chi Minh City.
This new trade deal is a significant departure from the trade relationship between the US and Vietnam, strengthening bilateral ties while closing trade loopholes and strengthening President Trump’s overall strategy to reshape international trade to American interests.
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