OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:31 PM – Wednesday, July 2, 2025
President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam on Wednesday, giving the United States “total access to their markets for trade” while imposing a 20% tariff on Vietnam’s imports into the United States.
President Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, explaining that he personally dealt with Tô Lâm, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. It will be a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries. The Terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% Tariff on any and all goods sent into our Territory, and a 40% Tariff on any Transshipping,” Trump wrote.
Advertisement
The transshipment tax ensures that other nations can not avoid trade barriers by first shipping to Vietnam prior to shipping into the United States, which has been a strategy that China employed in the past due to the lower tariff rates.
“In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade. In other words, they will ‘OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,’ meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO tariff,” he continued.
The agreement was reached less than a week before the 90-day delay on Trump’s reciprocal tariffs was anticipated to expire, which would have included a 46% blanket tariff on Vietnam imports to the United States.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that President Trump has vowed to continue “resolving issues affecting bilateral trade relations,” while also noting that Lam had suggested the United States recognize Vietnam as a “market economy and remove export restrictions on certain high-tech products.”
This deal is a framework agreement tied directly to a July 9th deadline. If the two countries complete the deal before then, the reduced tariff structure (20% / 40%) takes effect. If not, the U.S. automatically imposes the full 46% tariff originally planned, according to the Washington Post.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts