THE country is vulnerable to becoming the new Trump administration’s next target for tariffs as data shows its trade surplus with the United States ballooning, industry executives and analysts said.
Communist-run Vietnam, home to large industrial operations of US multinationals such as Apple, Google, Nike and Intel, has the fourth highest commercial surplus with the United States, topped only by China, the European Union and Mexico.
US trade data released on Thursday showed the country’s deficit with Vietnam reached US$102bil in the first ten months of this year, nearly a 20% increase over the same period in 2023.
“For Trump the main metric is the trade deficit, and the Vietnam number is bad,” said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Asia-based Hinrich Foundation.
“Vietnam is an ideal candidate for early action because it cannot easily retaliate,” she said.
President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office in January, threatened tariffs of up to 20% on all US imports during the campaign.His son Eric, a top adviser, has cited Vietnam among countries that “ripped off” the US, according to a video shown last week at a business conference in Hanoi organised by American chambers of commerce.
At the event several businessmen and trade association representatives expressed concern about possible tariffs on Vietnam.
“The new tariffs are one of the biggest concerns for the Korean industry in Vietnam,” Hong Sun, head of South Korea’s chamber of commerce in Vietnam, told the conference. Samsung Electronics is a major exporter of smartphones and electronic devices to the US from Vietnam
Vietnam benefited from trade barriers Trump imposed on Beijing in his first term, which spurred manufacturers to shift production out of China. — Reuters
