Trump says Vietnam is willing to eliminate tariffs on US goods

PALM BEACH, Florida - US President Donald Trump said that Vietnamese leader To Lam is willing to eliminate tariffs to avoid punishing new US duties imposed on the South-east Asian nation’s imports. 

Mr Lam “told me that Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the US,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social, describing a phone call between the leaders on April 4. Vietnam had earlier asked the Trump administration to

put on hold its planned 46 per cent tariff

on Vietnamese products for up to three months to enable negotiations.

Mr Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” announced on April 2 impose some of the highest charges on South-east Asian nations that had become key manufacturing and export alternatives to China. Cambodia, which is facing a 49 per cent US tariff, on April 4 said it would slash its own duties on American goods, while Indonesia pledged to ease its trade rules. 

In a statement about the call with Mr Trump, Vietnam’s government said it’s willing to negotiate to reduce duties on imports from the US to zero, and proposes that the US apply the same tax rate to goods from Vietnam. It said Vietnam is also ready to import more from the US, and encourage further US investment in Vietnam.

The two leaders will discuss an agreement to “concretise” these commitments, and Mr Trump accepted an invitation from Lam to visit Vietnam soon, the statement also said.

Vietnam’s trade ministry had sent a diplomatic note immediately after Mr Trump announced a minimum 10 per cent import duty on all exporters to the US and additional duties on about 60 nations, asking for a temporary freeze, a separate government statement said. Vietnam was hit with one of the largest “reciprocal” tariffs.

The ministry seeks a phone call between Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer “as soon as possible,” the statement said.

Vietnam’s stocks fell to the lowest level since mid-November as the tariff continued to rattle investors, extending the market selloff to a second day. The VN Index slid as much as 5.8 per cent on April 4, before closing 1.6 per cent lower.

An essay to calm unnerved Vietnamese written by Mr Nguyen Si Dung, former deputy chief administrator of the National Assembly, was published on the government’s website. “Vietnam will pass through this challenging period with the mindset of a nation and an economy that is increasingly mature, resilient, and responsible,” Dung wrote.

Trade groups and businesses are on edge. Vietnam’s seafood industry body, known as VASEP, asked the government to consider cutting import taxes on US seafood to 0 per cent from 3 per cent-10 per cent now, news website VnExpress reported.

Vietnam planned to dispatch another delegation to the US this weekend led by Deputy Prime Minister Phoc. He is set to hold meetings in New York before traveling to Washington.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who on April 3 said the tariff is “not in line with the good relationship between the two countries,” ordered a task force be set up to provide a quick response.

The new tax from the US, Vietnam’s largest export market, could significantly dent the nation’s ambitious goal of boosting growth to at least 8 per cent this year. Mr Chinh said the growth target remains unchanged for now. 

“Vietnam regrets the United States’ decision to impose reciprocal duties on Vietnamese exports to the US,” foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said in a statement responding to Bloomberg’s questions.

“We know that there will be continued dialog and negotiation,” Mr Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi, said at an event on April 3. If countries can “find a way to make a deal with President Trump, then I think that you’ll see changes,” he added. BLOOMBERG