Vietnam has promised to boost its purchase of U.S. goods including security and defence products, the government said Monday, as it seeks urgent talks with Washington to delay or deflect impending tariff impositions.
The Southeast Asian manufacturing giant counts the U.S. as its single biggest export market in the first three months of the year, but its key customer has now hit it with a colossal 46 percent duties, AFP reports.
That has prompted an urgent call for talks with Vietnam seeking consent from U.S. President Donald Trump to delay their implementation by at least 45 days to give time for negotiations.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Vietnam would “approach and negotiate with the U.S. side to reach a bilateral agreement, moving towards a sustainable trade balance”, according to a statement published on the government’s news portal late Monday.
It would also “continue to buy more U.S. products that are strong and Vietnam has demand for, including products related to security and defence; promote early delivery of aircraft trade contracts”, the statement added.
The tariffs imposed on Vietnam are part of a global trade blitz announced last week by Trump as he seeks better outcomes for American manufacturers and consumers.
Karoline Leavitt to Americans: “Don’t Buy into the Media’s Lies” About Trump’s Tariffs
The general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, To Lam, has sent a letter to Trump asking for a delay to the tariff.
According to a copy seen by AFP, Lam said he had appointed Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc to serve as the primary contact with the U.S. side on the issue, “with the aim of reaching an agreement as soon as possible”.
He also said he hoped to meet Trump in Washington at the end of May to finalise the matter.
Trump said on Friday he had had “a very productive” call with Lam, who he said wanted to make a deal on tariffs, as Breitbart News reported.
“Just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S.,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“I thanked him on behalf of our Country, and said I look forward to a meeting in the near future,” he added.
The call came days after Trump announced his sweeping worldwide reciprocal and baseline tariffs, which included a hefty 46-percent discounted reciprocal tariff on Vietnamese goods imported into America.
The reciprocal tariffs Trump imposed on many countries will take effect after midnight on April 9.
