Vietnam’s Trade Ministry has asked the Trump administration to put on hold its planned 46% tariff on imported Vietnamese products and engage in further negotiations.
The Trade Ministry made the request in a diplomatic note soon after President Donald Trump announced a minimum 10% import duty on all exporters to the United States and additional duties on about 60 nations. Vietnam was hit with one of the largest “reciprocal” tariffs.
The Trade Ministry seeks a phone call between Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer “as soon as possible,” according to a statement on the government’s website.
There is still “room for discussion and negotiation,” according to the statement, which cited Ta Hoang Linh, head of the ministry’s Foreign Market Development Department. Vietnamese goods exported to the US mainly compete with those from other countries, not American products, Linh said.
Vietnam planned to dispatch another delegation to the US this weekend led by Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc.
“Vietnam regrets the United States’ decision to impose reciprocal duties on Vietnamese exports to the US,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement responding to Bloomberg’s questions.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who on Thursday said the tariff is “not in line with the good relationship between the two countries,” ordered a task force be set up to provide a quick response.
The new tax from the US, Vietnam’s largest export market, could significantly dent the nation’s ambitious goal of boosting growth to at least 8% this year. Chinh said the growth target remains unchanged for now.
According to the most recent report of the US Trade Representative Office, the average import tax rate of Vietnam’s tariffs is 9.4%, major US products exported to Vietnam are subject to import tax rates of 15% or lower, so in fact, Vietnam’s taxable products are much lower than the calculated 90% or 46%, Vietnam’s Finance Ministry said on its website.
“We know that there will be continued dialog and negotiation,” Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi, said at an event on Thursday. If countries can “find a way to make a deal with President Trump, then I think that you’ll see changes,” he added.
