The last time Donald Trump was U.S. president, Vietnam reaped big benefits from the trade war he started with China. This time around the outcome could be different.
Trump has threatened tariffs of as much as 60% on Chinese goods in his second presidency, and duties of up to 20% for all imports from other countries. While Vietnam waits to see what specific measures it faces, some economists warn it could be one of the hardest hit countries in Asia due to its ballooning trade surplus with the United States and Trump’s determination to bring home more manufacturing jobs.
"We may see more pressure to impose tariffs on Vietnamese products and tighter monitoring of Vietnamese shipments to the U.S.,'' said Le Dang Doanh, an economist and former government adviser in Hanoi. "We may also see American manufacturers stepping up with complaints about dumping of Vietnamese products,” he added.
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