The best leader of Vietnam, at LAM, has asked President Trump to postpone the rates for at least 45 days, so that the two parties could prevent a movement that would destroy the Vietnamese economy and increase prices for American consumers.
The rate of 46 percent that the United States have said that the Vietnam will impose, is one of the highest faces in the country. Vietnam has left the prospect of such a steep rate with a feeling of whiplash and deep fear. It is also a sharp contrast with the recent hug of Hanoi van Washington as an important stronghold against China and a production destination for many American clothing brands.
President Lam's proposal to President Trump was constructed in a letter from Saturday, according to a copy obtained by the New York Times. In the letter Mr Lam called Mr. Trump to appoint an American representative to lead negotiations with HO DUC Phoc, a Vietnamese vice -prime minister, “with the aim of reaching an agreement as quickly as possible.”
Mr Lam had been one of the first world leaders to reach Mr Trump after the rates were announced. In a phone call, he offered to reduce the rates for the entry of the US to zero and urged Mr Trump to do the same, according to the Vietnamese government. Vietnam has said that his rates for American goods are on average 9.4 percent.
Mr. Trump later described the call as 'very productive'.
In his letter, Mr. Lam asked Mr. Trump to meet him personally in Washington at the end of May “to jointly reach an agreement on this important issue, for both our peoples and contribute to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam did not respond to a request for comments.
Vietnam, which is confronted with punishing high rates together with China, Cambodia and Laos, would be the most difficult economy in Asia if the rates are imposed according to economists as planned on Wednesday. The United States are the largest export market in Vietnam, accounting for around 30 percent of the total export in the country. A rate percentage of 46 percent would jeopardize 5.5 percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product, according to ING, a Dutch financial service provider.
It would also harm American consumers because Vietnam is crucial in the worldwide supply chain of production. For decades, the country has built its economy to attract foreign investments with cheap labor and a young labor force. It is now a top manufacturer of brands such as Adidas and Lululemon. Nike makes around 50 percent of his shoes in Vietnam.
After Mr Trump had imposed rates to China during his first term, Vietnam benefited from companies that shift their production there.
Within Hanoi, the recent movements of the Trump government have made doubts about the reliability of the United States, which have praised up -to -date Vietnam in recent years. In 2023 the two former enemies confirmed a new strategic relationship, a movement that was seen as a milestone in US foreign policy. Although Vietnam fought a brutal, decades of war against the United States, surveys had shown that many Vietnamese welcomed the political and strategic influence of the United States.
The Biden administration considered Vietnam -one of the few Southeast Asian countries that publicly pushed back against the assertiveness of China in the South Chinese Sea -as crucial for the US's effort to combat the increasing ambitions of China in the region.
“The position of Vietnam in the Pacific Ocean, his opinion about China, the willingness to work with America was the strongest card,” said Huong Le Thu, the deputy program director for Asia for the International Crisis Group. “Trump doesn't see it. He sees no allies or strategic values. He only sees figures and rates, so Vietnam has to try harder.”
Analysts say that Vietnam had a largely positive opinion about Mr Trump during his first government, and saw him as a pragmatic businessman who would not moralize with them for human rights.
As he explained the rates, Mr. Trump said: “Vietnam: great negotiators, great people, they like me. I like them.” He said that “the problem” was that the country charges the United States “90 percent”, a figure that apparently has been reached by base it on the current trade surplus of Vietnam with the US, worth $ 123.5 billion. (Vietnam disputed that calculation.)
The rates come at a precarious time for Mr Lam, who last year after the death of the previous party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong, was called Mr Lam as the general secretary of the ruling communist party of Vietnam. Mr Lam must secure a strong economic performance if he will enter the party congress of next year, where the top leaders of the country will be selected.
Even before Mr. Trump's rate announcement, Vietnam was busy gaining favor in the new administration. The signed preliminary deals to import American liquid natural gas, to lower the rates for American import and admitted SpaceX to open a company to launch his Starlink Satellite Internet Service in Vietnam. The Trump organization is developing a golf course of $ 1.5 billion and hotel project in the northern Hung Yen province of Vietnam, Mr Lam's home province.
Alexandra Stevenson contributed reporting.
