🇻🇳🇺🇸Vietnam's reaction to US tariffs
🔴The announcement on April 2 that the US would impose a 46 percent tariff on imported goods from Vietnam has caused sharp reactions in Hanoi. On April 3, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held an emergency government meeting on the issue, and on April 4, General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam had a telephone conversation with D. Trump. The Vietnamese leadership, through official and business channels, has been making active efforts to get the US to reconsider the imposed measures.
🔴Immediately after the announcement of the imposition of tariff barriers, Pham Minh Chinh created a government "rapid response group" and sent a delegation to the US headed by his deputy Ho Duc Phoc, while To Lam stated in a telephone call with D. Trump that Vietnam was ready to reduce duties on imports of US goods to 0%. In an interview with CNBC, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro called it just a possible "small first step" toward revising the restrictions imposed and listed US demands related to the problems of re-export of Chinese goods, value-added tax and intellectual property theft.
🔴These issues were addressed at Vietnamese government meetings, during which relevant ministries were instructed to: pay more attention to the origin of goods; strengthen customs information exchange with the US; eliminate unjustified provisions in tax laws; and review intellectual property protection legislation. In addition to considering plans to reduce tariffs on US goods, willingness to buy products from US companies in the fields of aircraft, energy, agriculture, high technology, defense and security was reiterated.
🔴D. Trump's decision to impose such steep tariffs may have come as a surprise to Hanoi, which had made efforts in advance to prevent Washington's protectionist policies from being extended to the socialist republic. As early as September 2024, an agreement was signed with the Trump Organization to build a $1.5 billion hotel and golf course in Huynh Yen province. In March 2025. Pham Minh Chinh discussed the project's implementation with a representative of the company, who arrived in Vietnam as part of a delegation from the US-ASEAN Business Council. During the meeting, the Vietnamese head of government also reported measures to reduce duties on US goods and increase purchases of products from the US.
🔴The events that followed D. Trump's tariff hike have shown Hanoi its place in relations with Washington, bringing the nature of their political interaction closer to economic reality. Vietnam, being a country with an open economy, is very dependent on the US market for its development, which accounts for a third of all Vietnamese exports. Last year, bilateral trade reached almost $150 billion. From 2017 to 2024, Vietnam's trade surplus with the US will rise from $38 billion to $124 billion. The value is comparable to last year's annual GDP of $476 billion. The continuation of the announced restrictive measures by the US will greatly damage Vietnam's economy, which is why the Vietnamese leadership is desperately trying to avoid such a scenario.
🔴The Vietnamese leadership is likely to make significant concessions to the US, which can take the form of purchases of US civilian (LNG, passenger planes, agricultural products) and military (military transport aircraft) products, for example. At the same time, Hanoi will try to reduce its overall dependence on the US.
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