President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he had struck a trade deal with Vietnam under which the country would face a minimum 20 percent tariff and open its market to US products.
The deal comes less than a week before Trump’s self-imposed July 9 deadline for steeper tariffs on US trade partners to take effect if agreements are not reached.
Shares in clothing companies and sport equipment manufacturers — which have a large footprint in Vietnam — rose on the news, but later declined sharply after the president released details including the continued tariffs, which were higher than expected.
If confirmed, the terms of the agreement will significantly increase the price of shoes and clothing that Vietnam exports to the United States, but Hanoi escapes the threat of the more severe 46 percent tariff threatened by Trump in April.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
He said that under the “Great Deal of Cooperation,” imports of Vietnamese goods will face a 20 percent US tariff, while goods that pass through Vietnam to circumvent steeper trade barriers — so-called “transshipping” — will see a 40 percent tariff.
