U.S., Vietnam reach initial trade agreement
發佈日期: 2025-07-03 23:50
TVB News
U.S. President Donald Trump said he has notched a preliminary trade deal with Vietnam which would allow U.S. goods to enter the country duty-free.
Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning to announce a trade agreement reached with Vietnam after speaking with its leader, To Lam.
It was described by Trump as a "great deal of cooperation" between the two nations, timely struck before Washington's 90-day pause on the sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" was due to expire on July 9th.
Earlier, the White House had inked a deal framework with the UK and an agreement with China to work out trade tensions.
Washington and Hanoi reportedly had three rounds of negotiations.
Under the terms of the agreement, the U.S. is setting rates on Vietnamese products at 20 percent, lower than the previous 46 percent announced in April.
Meanwhile, the U.S. tariffs on trans-shipments from third countries via Vietnam's territory will be 40 percent, a move that analysts say is aimed at China.
This as Trump's hawkish trade advisor Peter Navarro accused some Chinese businesses of using the Southeast Asian country as a trans-shipment point to circumvent trade barriers.
Trump also said Vietnam will give the United States "total access to their markets for trade," meaning the U.S. will be able to sell goods into Vietnam at zero tariff.
In particular, the president cited large-engine vehicles as a product that would be exported to Vietnam in larger numbers.
Vietnam has the third-largest trade surplus with the U.S. after China and Mexico, reaching some 123 billion dollars in 2024 and 39.1 billion dollars in the first quarter of this year.
Vietnam News Agency reported that the new agreement is welcomed by To Lam. He has urged Washington to hasten recognition of Vietnam as a market economy and to lift export restrictions on certain high-tech goods.
Officials in Beijing, who are eyeing the situation, expressed opposition to any party reaching a pact with the U.S. at the expense of China's interests.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that Beijing is willing to promote sound, stable, sustainable trade relations with U.S., but pledged to safeguard its own rights and interests if needed.
