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Vietnam to face 20% tariff under new US trade deal: Trump
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States has reached a new trade deal with Vietnam, imposing a 20 percent tariff on Vietnamese exports to the US and marking the third major trade agreement secured by his administration ahead of a critical self-imposed July 9 deadline. The deal introduces one of the highest tariff rates in recent years as global trade remains in flux and the US prepares to reinstate sweeping "reciprocal" a post on Truth Social, Trump said, 'I just made a Trade Deal with Vietnam,' adding that Vietnamese exports to the US will now face a 20 percent tariff, while goods transshipped through Vietnam—products from other countries rerouted via Vietnam, will be hit with a steep 40 percent Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified on X that the 40 per cent rate applies to foreign products routed through Vietnam in an attempt to bypass existing tariffs.
Trump emphasised that in exchange for the new tariffs, Vietnam has agreed to open its markets to US exports at zero tariffs, giving American businesses what he called "TOTAL ACCESS" for the first time. He pointed to SUVs as an example of goods that will benefit from expanded access to Vietnam's consumer the Vietnamese government has not yet confirmed the terms of the agreement as described by Trump. Vietnam's state-run news outlet Vit Nam News reported that General Secretary T Lm and Trump held a phone call to discuss the framework of the deal. During the call, Lm reportedly requested the US recognise Vietnam as a market economy and lift restrictions on the export of high-tech Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender told CNBC that a formal press release outlining the agreement's details was still in the works and expected by the end of the trading day. He did not clarify whether the 20 per cent tariff replaces the current 10 per cent or is in addition to TRADE RELATIONS Since the US lifted its embargo in 1994 and normalised diplomatic ties a year later, Vietnam has rapidly emerged as a key trading partner. By 2024, the US had become Vietnam's largest export market, with bilateral trade reaching USD 149.6 by tariffs on Chinese goods during Trump's first term, US companies increasingly turned to Vietnam as a sourcing hub. Imports of electronics, apparel, and furniture from Vietnam surged as firms looked to diversify supply chains away from the growing trade imbalance has raised red flags in Washington. In 2024, the US posted a USD 123.5 billion trade deficit with Vietnam, the third-largest globally, a figure that surged by another USD 39.1 billion in just the first quarter of 2025.- EndsMust Watch
