On Friday, US President Donald Trump spoke with To Lam, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and said that during the conversation, Lam expressed Vietnam’s willingness to reduce its tariffs to zero if an agreement could be reached with the United States.
Trump conveyed his gratitude to Lam on behalf of the US and said that he looks forward to meeting with Lam. Sharing a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who told me that Vietnam wants to cut its Tariffs down to ZERO if it is able to make an agreement with the US.”
He added, “I thanked him on behalf of our country and said I look forward to a meeting in the near future.” Vietnam is among the nations set to see the highest reciprocal tariff rates of 46 percent imposed from April 9, according to the new tariff regime the Trump administration unveiled Wednesday.
According to data from the US Commerce Department, Vietnam was the sixth-largest importer in the United States last year. The tariffs that Trump plans to impose could significantly increase the cost of a range of products that the US depends on from Vietnam, including electronics, clothing, and footwear. Over the past decade, the US has become more reliant on goods from Vietnam, particularly after Trump imposed higher tariffs on China during his first term.
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In 2016, Vietnam shipped USD 42 billion worth of goods to the US. Last year, the US imported USD 137 billion in goods from them, according to CNN.
On April 2, US President Trump announced widespread tariffs on countries worldwide. In February, soon after taking charge for the second time, Trump outlined a new trade policy focused on fairness and reciprocity and said that the US would implement reciprocal tariffs, charging other countries the same tariffs they impose on American goods. Trump emphasised that tariffs would address unfair trade practices, including non-monetary barriers, subsidies, and VAT systems, while encouraging foreign countries to either reduce or eliminate tariffs against the US.
As per the announcements, the import tariffs on other major countries are China (34 per cent), the European Union (20 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent), Taiwan (32 per cent), Japan (24 per cent), India (26 per cent), the United Kingdom (10 per cent), Bangladesh (37 per cent), Pakistan (29 per cent), Sri Lanka (44 per cent), and Israel (17 per cent).
