April 6 (UPI) — Vietnam has asked the United States to delay implementing tariffs scheduled to go into effect Apr. 9 while the two countries negotiate.
Vietnam is facing tariffs of 46% being imposed by the Trump administration, among the highest assessed of any country, and Hanoi is hoping to delay the economic chaos they would cause when they take effect.
Vietnam’s Communist Party leader, To Lam, spoke with President Donald Trump after the tariffs were announced last week, one of the first leaders to do so.
By Sunday, at least 50 countries had been in touch with the Trump administration to talk about tariffs, according to White House National Economic Director Kevin Hassett, who defends the tariff policy.
“So, the fact is, the countries are angry and retaliating and, by the way, coming to the table. I got a report from the U.S. Trade Representative last night that more than 50 countries have reached out to the president to begin a negotiation,” Hasset said on ABC News’ “This Week.”
“But they’re doing that because they understand that they bear a lot of the tariff. And so, I don’t think that you’re going to see a big effect on the consumer in the U.S. because I do think that the reason why they have a persistent, long-run trade deficit these people have very inelastic supply. They’ve been dumping goods into the country in order to create jobs, say, in China.”
Lam’s request for negotiation could be seen as a barometer on whether and by how much the Trump administration is willing to flex or negotiate on the tariffs, not just with Vietnam, but with other countries.
Vietnam has been the beneficiary of recent tense trading conditions between Beijing and Washington, D.C., and has acquired manufacturing and trade opportunities that historically would have gone to China.
Trump announced the latest round of trade tariffs on Wednesday, which he called “Liberation Day.” The move precipitated the largest one day stock valuation loss in the S&P 500 in 5 years.
The tariffs include a blanket 10% duty on all imported goods with larger ones on select countries. China, Canada, and Mexico have been among the most high profile countries involved in tariff talk. They have issued retaliatory tariffs in response to the Trump administration’s duties.
The tariffs are part of the Trump administration’s larger, protectionist trade agenda.
