21 hours Ago By Grady McGregor
During President Trump’s first U.S.-China trade war in 2018, American companies to sidestep escalating tariffs, and the country became increasingly critical to their bottom lines.
But in Mr. Trump’s escalating trade fight across the globe, Vietnam has become a new target. Tensions were so high that there were about whether American diplomats would attend Wednesday’s events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
Here’s how some U.S. businesses have come to rely on the country: Nike now produces in Vietnam and supports nearly half a million workers across .
Apple, via contract manufacturers, employs more than 200,000 workers at . Apple suppliers have been offering to to support production. Firms like and have recently announced plans to expand in the country.
In March, Vietnam welcomed the largest-ever delegation of American businesses — over , including Apple, Boeing and Amazon — to explore opportunities for deepening ties to the country. In all, American firms have of cheaper Vietnamese manufacturing and calmer geopolitics. That changed in April when Mr.
Trump declared a 46 percent tariff on goods coming from Vietnam, some of the harshest duties . Trump administration hard-liners like Peter Navarro, his top trade adviser, and U.S.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have made Vietnam into a punching bag. They have complained about the United States’ with Vietnam and accused the country of being little more than as a way to avoid the steep tariffs. Mr.
Navarro has also criticized Vietnam’s value-added tax system, or VATs, which are common outside the United States and are essentially a local consumption tax. He claims it benefits Vietnamese exporters at the expense of American producers. Mr.
Navarro has also accused Vietnam of cheating by stealing intellectual property. This week, the United States also imposed additional tariffs on Vietnam and three other countries for allegedly dumping on the U.S.
market. American firms aren’t fleeing Vietnam just yet, experts say, given Mr. Trump’s whipsawing tariff policies.
Some Vietnamese manufacturers are even to take advantage of a short-term arbitrage opportunity while the United States is engaged in another trade war with China. But for the most part, American firms are in wait-and-see mode. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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