Vietnam’s leading leader in Lam asked President Trump to delay the imposition of invoices for at least 45 days so that both sides can prevent a move that will destroy the Vietnam economy and raise prices for US consumers.
The percentage of duties 46 percent that the United States said they will impose on Vietnam is one of the highest in each country. The perspective of such a sharp invoice has left Vietnam with a whiplash feeling and deep concern. It also presents a strong contrast with the recent hug of Hanoi of Washington as an important stronghold against China and a productive destination for many American clothing brands.
Mr Lam’s proposal to President Trump was designed in a letter on Saturday, according to a copy received by the New York Times. In the letter, Mr Lam called on Mr Trump to appoint a US spokesman to lead the negotiations with Ho Duc Phoc, a Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, “with the aim of reaching an agreement as soon as possible”.
Mr Lam was one of the first leaders in the world to reach Mr Trump after the invoice announcement. In a phone call, it was offered to reduce invoices to US imports to zero and urged Mr Trump to do the same, according to the Vietnam government. Vietnam said its invoices in US goods are on average of 9.4 %.
Mr Trump later described the call as “very productive”.
In his letter, Mr Lam asked Mr Trump to meet him personally in Washington at the end of May “to come together in agreement on this important issue, for the benefit of both of our peoples and to contribute to peace, stability and growth in the region and the world”.
The Vietnam Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comments.
Vietnam, which faces punitively high invoices along with China, Cambodia and Laos, would be the toughest economy in Asia if invoices are imposed as scheduled on Wednesday, according to economists. The United States is the largest export market in Vietnam, representing about 30 % of the country’s total exports. A percentage of 46 % will endanger 5.5 % of Vietnam’s gross domestic product, according to ING, a Dutch financial services company.
It would also hurt US consumers because Vietnam is vital to the global logistics chain. For decades, the country has built its economy around the attraction of foreign investment with cheap labor and a new workforce. He is now a leading brand manufacturer such as Adidas and Lululemon. Nike makes about 50 percent of its shoes in Vietnam.
After Mr Trump imposed invoices on China during his first term, Vietnam benefited from the companies that shift their production there.
In Hanoi, recent Trump administration moves have doubts about the reliability of the United States, which has been chosen in recent years. In 2023, the two former enemies sting a new strategic relationship, a move that is considered a milestone in US foreign policy. Although Vietnam fought a brutal, decades of long war against the United States, investigations had shown that many Vietnamese had welcomed the United States political and strategic influence.
Biden’s administration examined Vietnam – one of the few southeastern Asia nations that pushed publicly behind China’s certainty in the South China Sea – as critical for the US to deal with China’s growing ambitions in the area.
“Vietnam’s position in the Pacific, her opinion on China, her willingness to work with America, was her strongest card,” said Huong Le Thu, director of the Asia Deputy Program for the International Crisis Group. “Trump does not see it in this way. He does not see allies or strategic values. He just sees numbers and invoices. So Vietnam must try harder.”
Analysts say that Vietnam had a great deal of positive opinion of Mr Trump during his first administration, seeing him as a realistic businessman who would not act with them for human rights.
While explaining the invoices, Mr Trump said: “Vietnam: Great negotiators, great people, I like it. He said that” the problem “was that the country was charging the United States” 90 percent “, a number that apparently reached its base in today’s 12th. this calculation.)
The invoices come in a precarious moment for Mr Lam, who was named Secretary General of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam last year after the death of the previous leader of the Nguyen Phu Trong party. Mr Lam must ensure a strong financial performance as he is heading to the next year’s conference, where the country’s top leaders will be selected.
Even before the announcement of Mr Trump’s invoices, Vietnam worked to win favor with the new administration. Temporary agreements were signed to introduce liquefied US gas, reduce some invoices to US imports, and allowed Spacex to open a company to launch the satellite internet satellite service in Vietnam. Trump is developing a $ 1.5 billion golf course and the hotel in the northern Hung Hung Yen province of Vietnam, the province of Mr Lam.
Alexandra Stevenson They contributed reports.
