Facing Trump tariffs Vietnam eyes crackdown on some China trade

HANOI - In hope of avoiding punishing US tariffs, Vietnam is prepared to crack down on Chinese goods being shipped to the United States via its territory and will tighten controls on sensitive exports to China, according to a person familiar with the matter and a government document seen by Reuters.

The offer, the details of which are reported by Reuters for the first time, came as senior US officials, including the influential White House trade advisor Peter Navarro, raised concerns about Chinese goods being sent to America with “Made in Vietnam” labels that draw lower duties.

Vietnam has for weeks been offering sweeteners that it hoped would persuade the US President Donald Trump’s administration to take a benign view of its huge trade surplus with America.

Instead, it was hit with a 46 per cent tariff as part of Mr Trump’s “Liberation Day” salvo.

While the tariff has been suspended for 90 days, the two countries agreed to start talks after a Vietnamese deputy prime minister met with the US Trade Representative (USTR) on April 9.

Export-reliant Vietnam is hoping to get the duties reduced to a range of 22 per cent to 28 per cent, if not lower, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

One of them said that US officials had signalled that range was likely, during a bilateral meeting in March.

Vietnam’s Trade Ministry and the USTR’s office did not return a request for comment.

In announcing the start of trade talks with the US on April 10, Vietnam’s government said on its official portal it would crack down on “trade fraud”. It did not provide specifics.

Since Mr Trump’s first term, many multi-national firms have implemented a “China plus one” policy of setting up factories in Vietnam to reduce exposure to Beijing.