Vietnamese President To Lam announces that Vietnam and the United States are very close to signing a reciprocal trade and tariff agreement following positive negotiations with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in New York. To address Washington's concerns over Vietnam's $178.2 billion trade surplus, Lam pledges to increase high-tech imports of US aircraft and infrastructure. However, negotiations face ongoing friction over US Section 301 investigations and allegations of Chinese goods being illegally transshipped through Vietnam.
Progress on Reciprocal Trade Agreement
- ▪Vietnam and the United States signed a trade framework agreement in October 2025 that lowered tariff rates by 20 percent, but have spent months in protracted negotiations over a final reciprocal trade deal.
- ▪On September 21, 2026, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Vietnamese President To Lam and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that Vietnam and the United States are close to finalizing a reciprocal trade agreement.
Efforts to Narrow Trade Deficit
- ▪Vietnamese President To Lam stated that Vietnam's exports align with United States demand without competing directly with domestic American products.
- ▪Vietnamese President To Lam noted that Vietnam wants to import more United States items to support industrial production, but certain policy constraints persist on the United States side.
- ▪The United States goods trade deficit with Vietnam rose to $178.2 billion in 2025, representing a 44.3 percent increase over 2024 and making it the third-largest US trade deficit behind China and Mexico.
- ▪Vietnamese President To Lam pledged to increase imports of high-tech goods from the United States, specifically naming aircraft, nuclear power, and road and railway infrastructure, to help narrow the bilateral trade gap.
Chinese Transshipment and Customs Enforcement
- ▪Vietnamese President To Lam denied allegations of illegal transshipment, stating that Vietnam does not accept the transshipment of goods and requires products to be genuinely manufactured in Vietnam to meet international standards.
- ▪United States customs inspectors have recently conducted spot checks on China-linked factories in Vietnam to investigate allegations of Chinese goods being rerouted to avoid tariffs.
- ▪United States trade officials have pressed Vietnam to strengthen rules of origin, customs enforcement, and controls on Chinese inputs to prevent Chinese goods from being repackaged and rerouted through Vietnam.
US Section 301 Investigations
- ▪The United States has initiated three simultaneous Section 301 investigations against Vietnam, focusing on excess manufacturing capacity, intellectual property rights violations, and forced labor, which currently carries a 12.5 percent tariff levy for approximately 60 nations.
- ▪Vietnamese President To Lam urged United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to take a comprehensive approach to outstanding trade issues, including Washington's ongoing Section 301 investigations.
Debatable claims
- ▪The US should drop its Section 301 investigations against Vietnam
- ▪The US should penalize Vietnam over Chinese transshipment concerns
- ▪The US should finalize a reciprocal trade agreement with Vietnam
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