Employees assemble electrical automobiles at a Vinfast manufacturing facility in Hai Phong, Vietnam, on Sept. 29, 2023.
Hau Dinh/AP
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Hau Dinh/AP
Vietnam has requested america to delay the April 9 implementation of sky-high tariffs introduced final week in a take a look at of how a lot President Trump is keen to haggle over his protectionist commerce agenda.
Vietnamese Communist Get together chief To Lam was one of many first world leaders to talk with Trump final week after the U.S. president introduced a flurry of tariffs on virtually each nation that exports to america. Vietnam was hit with a 46% tariff price, among the many highest.
Vietnam’s economic system has boomed in recent times on the again of hovering manufacturing and exports. The nation has benefited as firms have diversified provide chains in response to rising stress between Beijing and Washington in recent times.
The US is Vietnam’s largest export market.
On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son met U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper in Hanoi, in line with a authorities dispatch. Son requested that Trump delay the enforcement of the tariffs whereas the 2 sides negotiate.
Vietnamese Overseas Minister Bui Thanh Son at a joint information convention with Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. On Sunday, Son, who can also be Deputy Prime Minister, met U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper in Hanoi.
Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool AP
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Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool AP
That echoed the contents of a letter circulating on-line, from Lam to Trump dated April 5, during which the Vietnamese chief asks Trump to postpone the implementation of the reciprocal tariffs for at the least 45 days. The New York Occasions first reported on the letter and stated it had obtained a duplicate. NPR has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
One other deputy prime minister, Ho Duc Phoc, who was appointed particular envoy to the U.S., instructed firms on Friday that Vietnam was looking for a one to a few month delay, in line with the federal government. It stated Phoc will go to america and Cuba from April 6-16, and whereas within the U.S. he would participate in a high-level coverage dialogue.
Son instructed the U.S. ambassador that in Phoc’s journey, he can be asking the U.S. facet to prioritize the difficulty in order that an settlement may very well be reached quickly “for the benefit of the people and businesses of the two countries.”
“The [U.S.] decision to impose reciprocal tariffs is inconsistent with the reality of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and does not reflect the spirit of the Vietnam-United States comprehensive strategic partnership,” Son was quoted as saying.
The U.S. embassy in Hanoi didn’t reply instantly to emailed requests for a remark.
Flowers are on displayed on the market on Valentine’s Day, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Hanoi, Vietnam. (AP Picture/Hau Dinh)
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Negotiations with Vietnam may very well be an early take a look at of the Trump administration’s willingness to decrease the tariffs which have been a centerpiece of his financial plans. After he introduced them, inventory markets all over the world plummeted, and companies have expressed mounting concern.
Son proposed that the 2 sides proceed to coordinate and cooperate in all areas of the partnership, and he “emphasized that cooperation to overcome the consequences of war is a very important foundation in the relations between the two countries”.
Many different international locations have indicated a willingness to barter tariff charges with Trump, and a few, together with China, have retaliated with tariffs of their very own.
