The deal, unveiled just days before a 90-day suspension of the administration’s reciprocal tariffs was set to expire, appears to formalize elements of Trump’s longstanding push to balance trade relationships by linking tariff rates to trade imbalances.
In a follow-up message posted on Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the agreement followed a conversation with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Trump described To Lam as “highly respected” and called the exchange “an absolute pleasure.”
According to the post, Vietnam has agreed to a 20 percent tariff on all goods it exports to the U.S. and a 40 percent tariff on goods transshipped through Vietnam from other countries, a practice that has drawn increasing scrutiny from U.S. trade officials.
