Vietnam’s government announced that it had engaged in its first ministerial-level face-to-face tariff negotiation with trade officials from the United States on Jeju Island, South Korea on Friday (May 16). Vietnamese officials indicated that they had formulated preliminary responses to the concerns raised by Washington and had received support from the US, hoping that further technical discussions would make progress.
In April of this year, the US imposed significant “reciprocal tariffs” of up to 46% on Vietnamese goods. Failure to reach an agreement before the July deadline would have a significant impact on Vietnam’s economy.
According to a statement released by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade on Saturday (May 17), US and Vietnamese officials held their first ministerial meeting in Jeju following the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers’ meeting.
The statement mentioned that this negotiation followed a phone call between Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer last month, where they officially initiated the first round of negotiation process.
Vietnam stated that Greer agreed with the proposed response and suggestions from Vietnam. The US hopes that with joint efforts, the upcoming technical level negotiations in the coming days will yield positive results.
Earlier this week, the US emphasized that Vietnam’s huge trade surplus with the US is “unsustainable” and called on Vietnam to take concrete measures to deter Chinese companies’ “origin fraud” practices.
During a meeting between Robert Kaproth, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asian Affairs at the US Department of the Treasury, and Cao Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Finance of Vietnam on Thursday, it was stressed that Vietnam must take actions to combat illegal transshipments and other forms of trade fraud.
Vietnam is the fourth-largest country with a trade surplus with the US among all US trading partners. According to US government data, Vietnam’s trade surplus with the US reached $123.5 billion in 2024, raising concerns in Washington.
In response to US demands, the Vietnamese government has recently implemented a series of measures, including lowering tariffs on several US goods and strengthening efforts to crack down on the transshipment of Chinese goods through Vietnam.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated during a routine press conference on Thursday: “Vietnam is actively working towards establishing a balanced and sustainable trade relationship with the United States.”
She added, “Negotiations on the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on Vietnamese exports to the US are ongoing, and specific information will be announced later.”
During the APEC meeting, Greer also met with South Korean Minister of Industry and two key players in the shipbuilding industry—HD Modern and Hanwha Ocean—to discuss tariff policies, supply chains, and technical cooperation.
The South Korean government announced that they will commence technical negotiations covering six major areas including trade balance and economic security towards reaching a comprehensive agreement by July.
The timing for reaching a tariff agreement between the US and Vietnam remains uncertain. However, for Vietnam, an export-oriented economy, difficult choices lie ahead as they must rely on exports to the US for growth while also needing to enhance oversight on the import of US goods and address concerns regarding Chinese companies’ “origin fraud” activities.