US tells Vietnam trade deficit ‘unsustainable’ and major concern during tariff talks
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Vietnamese garment factory workers sewing apparel at a factory in Ho Chi Minh City on April 3.
PHOTO: AFP
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HANOI – The United States has said its trade deficit with Vietnam is “unsustainable” and a major concern, as the two countries hold negotiations on tariffs.
Vietnam has been holding talks with the US, its largest export market, to persuade the Trump administration to take a benign view of its huge trade surplus with America.
US President Donald Trump in April announced a “reciprocal” tariff rate
Mr Robert Kaproth, a senior US Treasury official, said in a meeting on May 15 with Vietnam’s Deputy Finance Minister Cao Anh Tuan that Vietnam must take measures to combat illegal transshipment and other kinds of trade fraud, Vietnam News Agency reported.
Mr Tuan asked Mr Kaproth to help facilitate Vietnam’s imports of American high-tech products as part of its efforts to narrow the trade deficit, which exceeded US$123 billion (S$159.3 billion) in 2024.
“Vietnam has demand for products that are strengths of the United States in the fields of energy, high technology, aviation, machinery and equipment, and agricultural products,” Mr Tuan said, according to the report.
In a bid to reduce its trade surplus with Washington, Hanoi has recently taken several measures, including cutting tariffs on a wide range of goods destined for the US, and has stepped up its crackdown on Chinese goods being shipped to the US via its territory.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the first round of tariff negotiations with the US took place earlier in May, noting that Vietnam is among the first countries the US has agreed to hold tariff negotiations with.
Vietnam Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang said at a regular news conference on May 15 that “Vietnam is actively promoting a balanced and sustainable trade relation with the US”.
“Negotiations between Vietnam and the US on its reciprocal tariffs on Vietnam’s exports are being implemented and specific information will be provided later,” she said. REUTERS
