VIETNAM’S trade ministry called the Trump administration’s so-called reciprocal tariff “unreasonable” as trade talks between Washington and Hanoi begin.
The ministry, during a Thursday conference, asked domestic companies and associations to send letters to US officials complaining about the Trump duties, according to a post on the ministry’s website. It also directed groups and firms to collaborate with US partners to rally Americans and politicians in support of maintaining a “normal” flow of Vietnamese goods to the US, it said.
Vietnam is among a group of countries opening trade talks with the US that are facing some of the steepest tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, who believes he can revive manufacturing that moved overseas in recent decades. Trump imposed a 46% tariff on Vietnam on April 2, which was later wound back to 10% for 90 days to allow time for talks.
On Wednesday, Vietnam’s government said it directed local companies to buy more high-value US imports in large volumes as it sought to avoid punishingly high tariffs on Vietnamese products in the nation’s most important export market.
During the Thursday conference, the trade ministry requested companies and associations to provide data to prove Vietnamese products comply with US requirements that they were manufactured in Vietnam, the post said.
The ministry also asked local companies to look for alternative export markets, according to the post, which noted Vietnam has multiple trade agreements with major economies. –BLOOMBERG
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