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The United States has reached a new trade agreement with Vietnam that imposes new tariffs on Vietnamese imports.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, President Trump set a July 9 deadline for countries to strike new trade agreements with the United States, warning that failure to do so would result in the reinstatement of high reciprocal tariffs. Trump has stated that if no deals are reached, his administration would automatically announce new tariff rates, some potentially reaching up to 50%, targeting countries with significant trade surpluses against the US. Prior to the current negotiations, Vietnam imposed tariffs on US goods, with rates varying by product, but US officials have criticized them as restrictive. Meanwhile, the US had previously slapped a 46% blanket tariff on Vietnamese goods, which was temporarily reduced to 10% during a 90-day pause announced in April. In terms of trade volume, Vietnam exported over $137 billion in goods to the US in 2024, while US exports to Vietnam totaled just over $13 billion, creating a goods trade deficit of more than $123 billion.
What’s going on now: In an announcement on Truth Social, President Trump confirmed that the US struck a new trade agreement with Vietnam. Under the terms of the deal, all Vietnamese goods entering the US will be subject to a 20% tariff, effectively doubling the temporary 10% rate imposed during a recent 90-day tariff pause. Additionally, the agreement introduces a 40% tariff on transshipped goods (products manufactured in other countries but routed through Vietnam to avoid higher tariffs).
Trump stressed that this transshipment crackdown is aimed at curbing efforts by countries like China to bypass US trade restrictions by using Vietnam as a shipping intermediary.
Trump described the agreement as historic, noting that in exchange for these tariffs, Vietnam has agreed to grant the United States full, tariff-free access to its markets. This would mean American exporters can sell products into Vietnam with zero tariffs, something Trump claimed Vietnam had “never done before.” He also highlighted specific US industries that might benefit from this market access, saying, “the SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle… will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam.”
In his full post, Trump wrote: “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. It will be a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries. The Terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% Tariff on any and all goods sent into our Territory, and a 40% Tariff on any Transshipping. In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade. In other words, they will ‘OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,’ meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff.”
