Trump announces Vietnam trade deal, says US given ‘total access’ to their markets
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Trump announces Vietnam trade deal, says US given ‘total access’ to their markets
Vietnam was previously hit with a 46% tariff as part of Trump’s “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff announcements. The Southeast Asian nation has been caught in a delicate balancing act as it tries to preserve trade with the U.S., its largest export market and a security partner. Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in late June that he was expecting to reach a trade deal with theU.S. before the deadline, according to Reuters. He reportedly said, “I hope that all the positive things will come for us” and that the result will come earlier than two weeks. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said “U. s. goods trade with Vietnam totaled an estimated $149.6 billion in 2024” and “US. goods exports to Vietnam in 2024 were $13.1 billion, up 32.9 percent” from 2023.
“It will be a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries. The Terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% Tariff on any and all goods sent into our Territory, and a 40% Tariff on any Transshipping,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade. 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 added.
Trump says he reached the deal after speaking with To Lam, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
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“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. Dealing with General Secretary To Lam, which I did personally, was an absolute pleasure,” Trump also said.
Vietnam was previously hit with a 46% tariff as part of Trump’s “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariff announcements.
That tariff was later suspended for 90 days, with the suspension set to expire next week.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in late June that he was expecting to reach a trade deal with the U.S. before the deadline, according to Reuters.
“I hope that you will see that the result will come earlier than two weeks,” Chinh reportedly said. “Vietnam and the U.S. share a deep understanding on tariffs… I hope that all the positive things will come for us.”
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The Office of the United States Trade Representative said “U.S. goods trade with Vietnam totaled an estimated $149.6 billion in 2024” and “U.S. goods exports to Vietnam in 2024 were $13.1 billion, up 32.9 percent ($3.2 billion) from 2023.”
“U.S. goods imports from Vietnam totaled $136.6 billion in 2024, up 19.3 percent ($22.1 billion) from 2023. The U.S. goods trade deficit with Vietnam was $123.5 billion in 2024, an 18.1 percent increase ($18.9 billion) over 2023,” it added.
The Southeast Asian nation has been caught in a delicate balancing act as it tries to preserve trade with the U.S., its largest export market and a security partner, while not antagonizing China, which serves as a top source of investment and a neighbor.
Vietnam’s Government Office, a body that coordinates between its ministries, held an emergency meeting with government trade experts on April 3, hours after President Donald Trump announced the tariffs. The aim was to address Washington’s concerns over alleged intellectual property theft and transhipment abuses, according to a person briefed on the meeting.
At the meeting, trade ministry and customs officials were told to tighten controls and were given two weeks to devise a plan to clamp down on illicit transshipment, which is when one country sends goods to a nation facing lower tariffs from a third country, to which the product is re-exported without having value added.
Many of the goods exported by Vietnam to the West have Chinese-made inputs, and Chinese companies have also established factories in the country to serve U.S. customers. In many instances, Vietnamese workers process the goods, which are then legally shipped to the U.S. under a “Made in Vietnam” label.
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U.S. officials have alleged that China uses Vietnam as a conduit to obtain lower tariffs for goods that do not have significant Vietnamese involvement.
FOX Business’ Bradford Betz and Reuters contributed to this report.
Donald Trump says Vietnam to face 20% tariff under ‘great’ deal
The deal comes less than a week before Trump’s self-imposed July 9 deadline for steeper tariffs on US trade partners to take effect if agreements are not reached. Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro has called Vietnam a “colony of China,” saying that one third of Vietnamese products are in fact relabelled Chinese goods. The terms of the agreement will significantly increase the price of shoes and clothing that Vietnam exports to the United States, but Hanoi escapes the threat of the more severe 46 percent tariff threatened by Trump in April.Shares in clothing companies and sport equipment manufacturers — which have a large footprint in Vietnam — rose on the news, but later declined sharply after the president released details including the continued tariffs, which were higher than expected. Trump said that “in return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the U.S. TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade,” he said. He said that under the “Great Deal of Cooperation,” imports of Vietnamese goods will face a 20 percent US tariff, while goods that pass through Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers — so-called “transshipping” — will see a 40 percent tariff.
Donald Trump said that Vietnam will give total access of their markets to US for trade.(AFP)
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The deal comes less than a week before Trump’s self-imposed July 9 deadline for steeper tariffs on US trade partners to take effect if agreements are not reached.
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Shares in clothing companies and sport equipment manufacturers — which have a large footprint in Vietnam — rose on the news, but later declined sharply after the president released details including the continued tariffs, which were higher than expected.
If confirmed, the terms of the agreement will significantly increase the price of shoes and clothing that Vietnam exports to the United States, but Hanoi escapes the threat of the more severe 46 percent tariff threatened by Trump in April.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
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{{^usCountry}} He said that under the “Great Deal of Cooperation,” imports of Vietnamese goods will face a 20 percent US tariff, while goods that pass through Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers — so-called “transshipping” — will see a 40 percent tariff. ‘Total Access’ {{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}} He said that under the “Great Deal of Cooperation,” imports of Vietnamese goods will face a 20 percent US tariff, while goods that pass through Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers — so-called “transshipping” — will see a 40 percent tariff. ‘Total Access’ {{/usCountry}}
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{{^usCountry}} Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro has called Vietnam a “colony of China,” saying that one third of Vietnamese products are in fact relabelled Chinese goods. {{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}} Trump’s trade advisor Peter Navarro has called Vietnam a “colony of China,” saying that one third of Vietnamese products are in fact relabelled Chinese goods. {{/usCountry}}
{{^usCountry}} Trump said that “in return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade,” he said. {{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}} Trump said that “in return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade,” he said. {{/usCountry}}
{{^usCountry}} “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.” {{/usCountry}}
{{#usCountry}} “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.” {{/usCountry}}
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The president said he believed US-made SUVs, “which do so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam.”
In a government statement, Vietnam confirmed that negotiating teams had come to an agreement to address the reciprocal tariff issue, but did not detail any tariff terms.
Trump “affirmed that the US will significantly reduce reciprocal taxes for many Vietnamese export goods and will continue to cooperate with Vietnam in resolving difficulties affecting bilateral trade relations, especially in areas prioritized by both sides,” the statement said.
Trump’s announcement comes a week before the threatened US reimposition of steep tariffs on dozens of economies, including the European Union and Japan, many of which are still scrambling to reach deals that would protect them from the measures.
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Those higher tariffs are part of a package Trump initially imposed in April, citing a lack of “reciprocity” in trading relationships, before announcing a temporary lowering to 10 percent.
Without a deal, Vietnam’s “reciprocal tariff” would have risen from the baseline 10 percent to 46 percent.
Since April, Washington had so far only announced a pact with Britain and a deal to temporarily lower retaliatory duties with China.
Both involve the United States maintaining some of Trump’s tariffs on the trading partners.
The terms of the UK deal are more narrowly focused than those announced by Trump with Vietnam, with London and Washington agreeing to cut US tariffs on cars from 27.5 percent to 10 percent, with a limit of 100,000 vehicles a year.
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It also fully eliminated the 10 percent tariff on goods such as engines and aircraft parts.
In return, Britain agreed to further open its market to US ethanol and beef.
Trump announces trade deal with Vietnam
“I just made a trade deal with Vietnam. Details to follow!” his post says. Vietnam will pay the US a 20% tariff on all goods imported into the States, while American products will be exported to Vietnam with zero tariffs. Vietnam ranked eighth among the largest US trading partners in the ASEAN region. The US remains Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner and the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods.
Later, Trump made another post about the US-Vietnam deal. Specifically, he said that Vietnam will pay the US a 20% tariff on all goods imported into the States, while American products will be exported to Vietnam with zero tariffs.
“The terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% tariff on any and all goods sent into our territory, and a 40% tariff on any transshipping. In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America total access to their markets for trade… We will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at zero tariff,” he explained.
US-Vietnam relations
On April 2, Trump imposed tariffs of 46% on Vietnam.
It later emerged that Trump spoke with the General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Vietnam, Vo Van Thuong. Their discussion included the imposed tariffs. At that time, Trump said Hanoi wants to reduce its trade tariffs to zero in exchange for an economic deal with the US.
According to data from Vietnam’s General Department of Customs, in 2024, trade volume between Vietnam and the US exceeded $132 billion. Vietnam ranked eighth among the largest US trading partners in the ASEAN region. At the same time, the US remains Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner and the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods. Vietnam’s main exports to the US include footwear, furniture, and automobiles.
Widespread US tariffs
In early April, Trump announced the introduction of reciprocal import tariffs, which could significantly impact global markets and prices. Most countries worldwide were included in the tariff list. China was hit hardest, with a tariff of 34% imposed. Russia and Belarus are not on the list, but Ukraine is.