Vietnam, US in final stretch to agree trade deal to cut tariffs, deficit

Vietnam and the United States have entered the final stages of negotiations on a new trade deal that is expected to be a key step in resolving tariff issues and reducing the trade deficit between the two countries, Reuters reported, citing official statements from the governments of both countries.

During a new round of talks in Washington, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son confirmed that Hanoi is ready to sign a deal with the US in the coming weeks. According to him, the agreement, reached in October, provides for the retention of the current 20% US tariffs on most Vietnamese goods. At the same time, some products are planned to be exempted from new duties introduced by the Donald Trump administration in August this year.

Speaking at a conference in Hanoi, Bui Thanh Son called on American business representatives to actively support the negotiation process. “We are committed to signing a fair and balanced trade agreement that will meet the interests of both sides,” he stressed.

For his part, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Michael DeSombre noted that the upcoming agreement should help restore balance in bilateral trade. According to him, the US trade deficit with Vietnam is one of the largest in the world — after China and Mexico. At the same time, he expressed hope that the new agreements will create conditions for a more equal partnership between the two economies.

According to official Vietnamese data, during the first ten months of this year, the country recorded a record trade surplus with the US of $ 111 billion. US statistics are currently unavailable due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government, but preliminary estimates indicate that the steady trend in favor of Vietnamese exports remains.

Meanwhile, another round of negotiations between delegations of the two countries is underway in Washington. The Vietnamese side is headed by Minister of Trade Nguyen Hong Dien. According to the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade, the main focus is on agreeing on a list of goods that can be exempted from US tariffs. Among them is coffee, which is one of the country's key export products.

In addition, the parties are discussing the terms of preferential access of American goods to the Vietnamese market, in particular cars and agricultural products. Vietnam insists on the speedy finalization of the agreement, but the final signing can only take place after the decision of the US Supreme Court on the legality of the tariffs introduced during the presidency of Donald Trump. The court is expected to issue a ruling by the end of this year or by mid-2026.

If signed, the agreement could be one of the most significant steps in the development of trade relations between Vietnam and the United States in the past decade, opening up new opportunities for exporters from both countries and reducing the risks of trade tensions in the region.