Vietnam thought it had a deal on its US tariff rate. Then Trump stepped in.
Neither side has released documentation of the tariff terms, raising questions about whether they did, in fact, reach an agreement.Vietnam thought it had a preliminary deal with the U.S. to lower its tariff level substantially. Then, at the last minute, President Donald Trump raised the rate.
That sent shock waves through Vietnam because their negotiators had not, in fact, agreed to the 20 percent rate; they believed the tariff rate would be around 11 percent, according to the four people. Trump disregarded that figure in his phone call with Vietnamese General Secretary Lâm — who had not been part of the initial tariff negotiations — and instead declared the U.S. would impose a tariff nearly twice as high.
Some on the U.S. side were surprised, too, including outside groups who’d been tracking the talks, according to one Washington-based lobbyist who works with Vietnam and other Asian governments.
“Trump sandbagged everybody,” said the lobbyist. They described the Vietnamese government’s reaction as “surprise, as well as disappointment and anger.”
