Trump softens stance on Vietnam, announces new trade deal days before tariff hike

WASHINGTON/HANOI: In an astonishing declaration a few days before an extensive fresh round of tariffs was scheduled to come into force, President Donald Trump divulged a trade arrangement with Vietnam that enforces a pointedly lower tariff than what was announced earlier.

Trump eases off on Vietnam, announces new trade framework

According to the latest Reuters report, instead of the 46% levy imposed in April, Vietnamese exports to the U.S. will now be facing a 20% tariff. In the meantime, goods diverted through Vietnam from third countries, specifically China, will be slapped with a 40% transshipment charge.

“It is my great honour to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after a call with Vietnamese President To Lam. In response, Vietnam consented to give U.S. exporters privileged access to its market, possibly including zero tariffs on some products and enhanced access for “made-in-America” big-engine automobiles.

While Trump viewed the arrangement as a major win, specifics such as which products will be impacted or how transshipment guidelines will be imposed remain unclear. Nonetheless, the statement aided in the “cooling” of economic strains with Vietnam.

U.S.-Vietnam economic ties deepen amid global trade shifts

Vietnam’s quick rise as a U.S. trading ally originated from previous Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports, which prompted countless producers to move production to Southeast Asia.

Since 2018, Vietnam’s exports to the U.S. have increased more than two and a half times, from under $50 billion to $137 billion in 2024. On the other hand, U.S. exports to Vietnam have grown more modestly, by just 30%, over the same period.

The Vietnamese régime hailed the contract as a move toward more robust ties. Hanoi repeated its plea to the U.S. to formally identify Vietnam as a market economy and to loosen restrictions on high-tech exports, old priorities for Vietnam’s administration.

Global trade realignments as July 9 tariff cliff approaches

Trump’s move to reduce the tariff for Vietnam comes just ahead of a July 9 target, when he is projected to increase duties on most imports. More than a dozen countries are now scurrying to negotiate analogous agreements with the U.S. to evade high tariffs.

The Vietnam arrangement reflects a current transaction made with the UK, which acknowledged a 10% tariff on many products in return for privileged access to sell aircraft, locomotives and beef in the U.S. Discussions with India and Japan are in progress, but have yet to produce significant results.

Forecasters say Trump’s Vietnam agreement, like others, is just like a prescribed trade agreement but hasn’t settled key implementation questions. Nevertheless, it will help keep strategic bonds with Hanoi as the U.S. seeks to stabilise economic interests and regional security alliances in the face of growing Chinese influence.

“Had Trump stuck with 46%, Vietnam feared being outcompeted by other Southeast Asian nations,” said Murray Hiebert of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “That could have damaged both trade ties and military cooperation with the U.S.”