The Vietnamese government is hastening negotiations with the United States. The U.S. has imposed a super high reciprocal tariff of 46% on Vietnam.
According to Bloomberg on the 8th (local time), Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, who is visiting New York, moved to Washington DC the day before to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Vestin and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Deputy Prime Minister Phoc is expected to hold talks with Secretaries Vestin and Lutnick within a few days. However, it is uncertain whether the meeting will take place before the reciprocal tariffs take effect on the 9th Eastern Time. It is also reported that optimism is low regarding whether the U.S. and Vietnam will reach an agreement.
In this regard, Party Secretary To Lam sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump requesting a minimum 45-day delay in the imposition of reciprocal tariffs. He also expressed hope to meet President Trump in Washington DC at the end of next month to finalize this issue.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also issued a statement saying, "We will approach and negotiate with the U.S. side to reach a bilateral agreement and move toward a sustainable trade balance."
To this end, he said they would purchase more U.S.-made goods in demand in Vietnam, including security and defense-related materials, and promote early delivery of aircraft trade contracts. He also added that issues such as monetary policy, exchange rates, non-tariff barriers, and proper origin certification of goods would be reviewed.
Following the U.S. tariff announcement, Party Secretary To Lam stated in a phone call with President Trump, "If we can reach an agreement with the U.S., we want to reduce Vietnam's tariffs to '0'." However, Peter Navarro, White House trade and manufacturing advisor, said the day before regarding Vietnam's tariff elimination proposal, "That means nothing," adding, "Because the important issue is non-tariff fraud."
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