President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has reached a trade deal with Vietnam, just ahead of the 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs ending for more than 90 countries that barter with the U.S., Freight Waves reported. Goods from Vietnam to the U.S. will now face a 20% import tax, instead of the 46% duty rate Trump said he would impose on merchandise from the country during his “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2. Trump paused the reciprocal tariffs on imports from most countries for 90 days on April 9, but kept a 10% baseline import tax in place for almost all U.S.
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Vietnam's imports from China and exports to the United States both reached a post-pandemic record in April, amid talks with Washington to reduce Hanoi's trade surplus and a crackdown on Chinese goods being shipped to the U.S. via its territory, Reuters reported. The Southeast Asian nation faces the risk of 46% duties on its exports to the U.S. if the White House confirms this rate at the end of a global tariff pause in July. This could undermine Vietnam's growth model and hit multinationals exporting from the country, including Samsung and Nike.
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Vietnam's trade ministry has issued a directive to crack down on illegal transhipment of goods to the United States and other trading partners as it tries to avoid steep U.S. tariffs, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The ministry in the directive, which was dated and effective April 15, said trade fraud was likely to increase amid growing tension caused by U.S. tariffs. That in turn would make it "more complicated to avoid sanctions that countries will apply to imported goods" if fraud is not prevented, it said.
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Vietnamese budget carrier Vietjet said on Thursday it has signed an agreement worth $300 million with AV AirFinance, a partner of investment fund KKR, to fund the expansion of its fleet. Thursday’s announcement confirmed a Reuters report last week on the finance deal done between Vietjet and AV AirFinance during a visit to the U.S. by Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc for reciprocal tariff negotiation. The deal value was initially reported at $200 million. The agreement with AV AirFinance is the latest in a string of financing agreements worth $4 billion that have been signed with U.S.
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Vietnam could experience a wave of bankruptcies of solar and wind producers if the state utility proceeds with its planned change in pricing for renewable energy, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a letter to parliament, Bloomberg News reported. The application of a new power purchasing price — which would be implemented retroactively for several years — by Vietnam Electricity, or EVN, puts 173 solar and wind projects at risk of insolvency, according to the March 24 letter the chamber made public Friday.
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