In light of an impending US tariff of 46 % on imports from the Southeast Asian nation, which could have a significant impact on its growth, Vietnam and the United States held their first direct ministerial-level negotiations on Friday ( May 16 ).
Following the 31st APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade, the Asian business department said in a statement released on Saturday that the meeting, which took place in Jeju, South Korea, embodied both countries ‘ devotion to fostering a robust financial, business, and expense relationship.
The discussions come after Nguyen Hong Dien, the country’s trade minister, and Jamieson Greer, the US trade representative, called last month to actually begin the negotiations.
The business agency’s speech read,” USTR Greer agreed with Vietnam’s recent strategy and proposal.” The United States “hopes that the technical-level agreements in the upcoming days may turn out well.”
The US has delayed implementing the 46 % tax on Vietnam until July. The charge, if implemented, could prevent Vietnam’s economic growth, which is heavily reliant on selling to the United States, its largest export business, and significant foreign investments in producing goods for export.
Vietnam had the fourth-largest trade deficit among all US trading partners, accounting for$ 123.5 billion in business next month.
Hanoi has recently taken a number of steps in an effort to reduce that trade deficit, including lowering tariffs on a number of goods heading for the US and putting pressure on the US to stop the sale of Chinese goods via its territory.