Key points
- US had announced 46pc levy on Vietnamese exports in April
- Higher tariffs were due to take effect next week without deal
- US cars may get preferential access to Vietnam’s market
ISLAMABAD: President Donald J Trump said on Wednesday that the US will charge 20 per cent tariffs on imports from Vietnam under a new trade deal reached during last-minute negotiations.
Products sent from Vietnam to the US had faced a 46 per cent levy, which was set to go into effect next week as part of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs announced in April, according to the BBC.
Dozens of other economies, including the European Union and Japan, are still scrambling to make their own deals with the US before the planned increases.
“It is my Great Honour to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” Trump said on Truth Social after speaking with Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam.
Trump’s announcement comes just days before a July 9 deadline before he ramps up tariffs on most imports, one of the Republican’s signature economic policies.
Tariff rate
Under that plan, announced in April, US importers of Vietnamese goods would have had to pay a 46 per cent tariff.
Details were scant. It was not clear which products Trump’s 20 per cent tariff would apply to, or whether some would qualify for lower or higher total duties.
Vietnamese stocks climbed to its highest in over three years as investors await details on the US-Vietnam trade agreement that President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.
The benchmark Vietnam Index rose 0.3 per cent to its highest since April 2022, data from LSEG showed.
