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Mark Magnier

US President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with Vietnam on Wednesday, a week before a July 9 reciprocal tariff deadline that would subject that country’s imports to a 20 per cent tax.
In a move largely aimed at China, goods transshipped through the Southeast Asian nation would face double that amount.
“It will be a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries,” Trump announced in a morning blast on social media.
“In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade,” he added.
“In other words, they will ‘OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,’ meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff.”
The announced deal is the latest in advance of the self-imposed July 9 deadline Trump set in April aimed at subjecting dozens of US trading partners, whether wealthy or impoverished, to tariffs at least equal to what they charge US exporters.

Wednesday’s deal also highlighted elements of the president’s playbook: heavy threats leading to a big headline deal with limited detail that showcases his personal role in crafting the agreement.
“Dealing with General Secretary To Lam, which I did personally, was an absolute pleasure,” he wrote, referring to the head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party. The agreement was made possible after his “speaking with To Lam” he repeated in the short post.
With the reciprocal tariff deadline seven days away, Wednesday’s deal with Vietnam is just the third of “90 deals in 90 days” predicted by Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro in April. The other two are the United Kingdom and China.
“The go-forward tariff rate on Vietnamese imports will be about twice as high as the rate stands today,” said Henrietta Treyz co-founder of Veda Partners, a Washington consultancy, “but about half as punitive as it could’ve been.”
Trump had imposed a 46 per cent duty on imports from Vietnam as part of his initial list of reciprocal tariffs. He subsequently pared that down to 10 per cent, allowing time for the two sides to settle on terms.
Negotiations may also have been helped by the Trump Organisation’s plans to develop a US$1.5 billion luxury resort project in Vietnam’s northern Hung Yen province – set to include five-star hotels, golf courses and residential estates on some 990 hectares (2,450 acres) – along with reports of a US$1 billion Trump Tower in Ho Chi Minh City.
In May, Trump’s son Eric attended a groundbreaking event for the project, where he was joined by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
US officials reportedly pressured their Vietnamese counterparts in recent weeks to agree on a tariff figure, step up enforcement against trade fraud and end that nation’s status as a hub for transshipped goods made in third countries and assembled or repackaged in Vietnam for onward shipment to the US.
China has become increasingly concerned that US reciprocal trade deals with other countries could affect transshipments and otherwise divert supply chains, analysts said.
Liu Pengyou, spokesman with the Chinese Embassy in Washington, declined to comment on the broad merits of the US-Vietnam deal but added: “China will not accept any trade deals made at the expense of Chinese interests and will take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.”


A Brookings Institution analysis last month highlighted a sizeable hike in Chinese shipments to Vietnam in recent months.
“The fall in China’s direct trade surplus with the US has been fully offset by a rise in its trade surplus with other countries,” wrote Brookings senior fellow Robin Brooks.
“Data suggest that Chinese goods are still reaching the US, just that they are coming via more complicated routings. As the US leans on transshipment hubs, the inflationary impact from tariffs is likely to build.”
Vietnam has the third-largest trade surplus with the US after China and Mexico, putting it in Trump’s crosshairs.
However, the Pentagon also sees it as an important strategic partner in helping counter China, seen in Hanoi’s pushback against Beijing’s energy and island-building activities in the South China Sea.
Vietnam exported US$136.6 billion to the US last year, a 19 per cent jump over 2023, according to US Census Bureau data.
That was 10 times more than the US$13.1 billion it imported, up 33 per cent. Hanoi’s May exports jumped 35 per cent as exporters rushed to get goods onto ships ahead of the tariff deadline.
Trade experts note, however, that stemming transshipments is extremely difficult.
“In most instances, the investigation of these transshipments is hampered due to the intransigency of the suspected country of origin to assist with the investigation of the wrongdoers,” a 2024 article in Global Trade and Customs Journal noted, citing the complexity of highly technical documentation, supply-chain complexities and blocked access to factories.
“Even if [the] suspected country of origination is cooperative, the hurdles to prove wrongdoing is hampered by such barriers,” it added.

The Joe Biden administration encouraged factories to shift production out of China into other low-cost centres such as Vietnam, Thailand, India and Mexico, resulting in Apple, Nike, Gap and Boeing adding significant capacity in Vietnam in recent years.
But Trump has been laser-focused on boosting US manufacturing, even involving such industries as textiles and footwear in which the US is not competitive.
In his Wednesday announcement, Trump touted the prospect of a sharp rise in US exports to Vietnam.
“The SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle, which does so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Zero tariffs tend to spur a huge increase in such non-tariff barriers as more rigorous inspections, safety protocols and permitting delays that are less visible and more difficult to counter.
Regarding US vehicles, Vietnam’s infrastructure weaknesses may make relatively expensive US vehicles less attractive than China’s, which have cost advantages and a huge head start.
China truck exports to Vietnam reached US$333.9 million last year, according to the UN Comtrade database, a 54 per cent increase, with auto purchases increasing rapidly as incomes rise.


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United States

Trump reaches Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff

A container is loaded onto a cargo ship while docked at Hai Phong port, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for many countries, in Hai Phong, Vietnam, April 2025. Photo: Reuters

Employees work at a shoe factory for export in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Reuters

The 40 millionth motorcycle produced by Japan’s Honda Motor Co. in Vietnam is unveiled during a ceremony at a factory near Hanoi on Tuesday. Photo: Kyodo

Vietnam raids outfit selling livestock oil for cooking: ‘anything left that isn’t fake?’

Ofood cooking oil. Photo: Handout

Food stall at a local market in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Victoria Burrows

Trade war leverage? Trump’s property empire eyes Vietnam for mega-projects

US President Donald Trump’s son Eric (right) at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new Trump-branded golf resort in Vietnam. Photo: AFP

Trump Tower in New York. The Trump Organisation plans to build a similar edifice in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: AP

Eric Trump speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trump International Hung Yen golf project in Vietnam on May 21. Photo: VNA via AP

(From left) To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, and US President Donald Trump. Photos: AFP

An aerial view of historic low-rise properties in front of high-rise commercial buildings in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: AFP

Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump (second from left) take a selfie with Dang Thanh Tam (second from right) as they attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hung Yen golf course project. Photo: AFP

Vietnam plans tougher penalties to curb illegal sex selection amid rising birth gender gap

As Vietnam modernises, traditional preferences for sons continue to influence reproductive choices. Photo: AP

A family rides Hanoi’s first urban metro line. As Vietnam modernises, traditional preferences for sons continue to influence reproductive choices. Photo: AFP

A group of Vietnamese children gather around a photographer. Photo: AP 

Vietnam’s Mekong challenge: balancing ties with China amid build up of dams, canal projects

A railway bridge under construction over the Mekong River in Laos. Photo: Kyodo

Workers use excavators to dig the Funan Techo Canal along the Prek Takeo channel that runs into the Mekong River in Cambodia. Photo: AFP

People arrive at the construction site of the Funan Techo Canal along the Prek Takeo channel in Kandal province, Cambodia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump reaches Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In move aimed at China, transshipped goods from elsewhere would face 40%

In move aimed at China, transshipped goods from elsewhere would face 40%