Vietnam offers to remove tariffs on US imports amid trade tensions

Vietnam has offered to eliminate all tariffs on US imports following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 46% levy on the Southeast Asian country. The offer, made by party chief To Lam, was detailed in a letter sent to Trump on April 5 and seen by Bloomberg. Lam requested that the US refrain from applying additional tariffs or fees on Vietnamese goods and asked for a delay of at least 45 days in the implementation of the new tariffs, which are set to take effect on April 9.

However, Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to Trump, criticized Vietnam’s proposal, claiming it didn’t go far enough. On Fox News, Navarro argued that even if Vietnam removed all tariffs, the US would still face a trade deficit of around $120 billion with the country. He also accused Vietnam of non-tariff "cheating," such as providing export subsidies and allegedly acting as a conduit for Chinese goods to bypass tariffs.

Lam’s offer aligns with comments made by Trump earlier, following a phone call between the two leaders. The new tariffs come as Vietnam, increasingly seen as an alternative manufacturing hub to China, faces one of the highest tariff rates in the world.