Vietnam’s International Ministry yesterday pushed again on the U.S. authorities’s declare that it had did not fight the commerce in items made with compelled labor, saying that Washington’s willpower didn’t replicate the federal government’s efforts.
Vietnam is amongst 60 nations that the Workplace of the U.S. Commerce Consultant (USTR) threatened this week with tariffs of 10-12.5 p.c because of their alleged failures to take motion on compelled labor.
Talking at an everyday press briefing in Hanoi, Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Dangle said that “the conclusions of the investigation into compelled labor practices by the U.S. Commerce Consultant’s Workplace don’t precisely replicate the truth and Vietnam’s efforts in stopping, mitigating, and decreasing compelled labor,” Vietnamese state media reported.
Dangle added that Vietnam had a constant coverage of strictly prohibiting all types of compelled labor, and adhered to each the requirements of the Worldwide Labour Group and the labor laws contained in its varied free commerce agreements.
“This coverage is particularly outlined in authorized paperwork, packages, and motion plans of the Authorities, and its implementation is assured in observe,” she mentioned.
In March, the USTR introduced that it had initiated unfair commerce practices probes into 60 nations’ alleged failures to take motion on compelled labor, beneath Part 301 of the U.S. Commerce Act of 1974.
On Tuesday, the USTR introduced that every one 60 had been discovered responsible of both failing to introduce anti-forced labor laws, or failing to implement them adequately. Vietnam was among the many 44 economies that the USTR threatened with a 12.5 p.c tariff for unfair buying and selling practices. The remaining 16 nations have been threatened with a ten p.c tariff.
The transfer was extensively seen as a means of rescuing President Donald Trump’s protectionist commerce coverage after the U.S. Supreme Court docket in February struck down the sweeping international tariffs that his administration imposed on allies and adversaries alike final yr.
Whereas Vietnam shouldn’t be the one Southeast Asian nation that has been focused by this investigation – Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines have been additionally among the many 60 nations on the USTR’s listing – it has come beneath notably shut scrutiny by the Trump administration, regardless of being an necessary associate in Washington’s purpose of containing Chinese language energy and affect. The principle purpose for that is the nation’s yawning commerce surplus with the US, which noticed it hit with one of many highest tariff charges of any nation throughout President Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement in April 2025.
In latest months, Vietnam has additionally been hit with separate Part 301 probes into alleged extra manufacturing capability and mental property rights. The latter of those was introduced final week, with U.S. Commerce Consultant Jamieson Greer stating that “we have to see Vietnam resolve these long-standing issues, together with on a variety of IP enforcement points, in a way that’s sustained and that deters future IP infringements.” Vietnam’s authorities has reassured Trump commerce officers that it’s dedicated to combating mental property violations.
All of those commerce probes are prone to introduce new areas of pressure into commerce talks between Washington and Hanoi. The 2 sides signed a framework for a commerce settlement in October, however regardless of months of negotiations, they’ve but to achieve a remaining settlement. Among the many areas of dispute have been the query of transshipment – the routing of Chinese language items by means of Vietnam to keep away from U.S. tariffs – and market entry for American firms.
The state of affairs has additionally been difficult by the truth that regardless of the imposition of latest tariffs on its imports, Vietnam’s commerce surplus with the U.S. continues to develop. In response to the USTR, the U.S. items commerce deficit with Vietnam rose to $178.2 billion in 2025, a 44.3 p.c improve over 2024. In the course of the first three months of 2026, it totaled $54.8 billion, in response to U.S. statistics cited by Reuters. This was second solely to Taiwan and better than the deficits with main exporters China and Mexico.
