Robert Lighthizer warns Vietnam over trade deficit with US
- US Trade Representative says American businesses face ‘host of unfair trade barriers’ in the Southeast Asian country
- Trump has complained Vietnam’s trade practices are worse than China’s, sparking concern that Hanoi could be next on the tariff hit list
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Doug Palmer on politico.com on July 29, 2019.
Vietnam must take steps to reduce its trade deficit with the United States and open its market to more US goods and services, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in comments released on Monday.
“US businesses face a host of unfair trade barriers in Vietnam,” Lighthizer said in written responses to questions from the Senate Finance Committee.
“The United States has been clear with Vietnam that it has to take action to reduce the unsustainable trade deficit, including by expanding its imports of goods from the United States and by resolving market access restrictions related to goods, services, agricultural products and intellectual property.”
Lighthizer testified before the committee on June 18, but members had additional questions that they asked him to answer in writing.