Efforts to negotiate reciprocal trade agreement with US

(ĐN)- On April 9, the U.S. imposed a minimum 10% import tariff on all goods and a 46% countervailing duty on Vietnamese imports. However, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day postponement, during which the countervailing tariff will remain at around 10%. This 90-day window presents an opportunity for Vietnam and other affected countries and territories to enter into negotiations.

At the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc visited the U.S. to discuss bilateral economic and trade issues. Although Vietnam benefits from the temporary tariff postponement, the country still seeks to establish a formal bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. to ensure long-term trade stability. Simultaneously, Vietnam is implementing measures to balance trade between the two nations.

In Dong Nai, several sectors have proposed increasing imports of raw materials from the U.S. to support agricultural and industrial production, aiming to help narrow the trade deficit. On average, Dong Nai imports approximately $16.5 billion to $17.2 billion annually, mainly from China, South Korea, and Taiwan. Imports from China alone account for about one-third of the province’s total import turnover, equivalent to $5.5 billion to $5.7 billion per year. Therefore, in the next three months, to help balance trade with the U.S., Dong Nai enterprises will need to shift toward importing more goods from the U.S., such as cotton, fabric, chemicals, plastics, seeds, breeding pigs and chickens, corn, soybeans, animal feed, livestock and poultry meat, machinery, and pharmaceuticals.

Besides, the province also needs to review projects where Chinese investors have rented factories in industrial parks to manufacture products for export to the U.S. Over the past five years, there has been a wave of Chinese companies leasing factories in Dong Nai to produce machinery, electronic components, and wood products for export to the U.S. Many domestic and foreign businesses in the province have requested that authorities tighten control to prevent Chinese firms from merely assembling goods in Vietnam to obtain Vietnamese origin for lower U.S. tariffs. Such practices could worsen the trade deficit with the U.S. and pose significant risks to other businesses operating in Vietnam.

Reported by K.M