Minister of Industry and Trade sends diplomatic note requesting US to temporarily suspend tax imposition

Mr. Ta Hoang Linh - Director of the Department of Foreign Market Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade - has just shared with the press the views of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the US imposing a reciprocal tax of up to 46% on Vietnamese goods.

Mr. Linh said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade regretted that the US announced a 46% tax on all Vietnamese export goods, effective from April 9.

Vietnam and the US are two complementary economies . The export and foreign trade structures of the two countries do not compete directly but complement each other, in accordance with the internal needs of each country.

"Vietnamese goods exported to the US mainly compete with third countries, not directly with American businesses in the US market. On the contrary, Vietnamese goods exported to the US also create conditions for American consumers to use cheap goods," said Mr. Linh.

The Director of the Foreign Market Development Department said that the average most-favored-nation (MFN) tax rate that Vietnam currently applies to imported goods is 9.4%. Therefore, the reciprocal tax rate that the US plans to apply to Vietnamese goods of up to 46% is unscientific and truly unfair, not reflecting Vietnam's goodwill and efforts over the past time in dealing with the trade deficit between the two countries.

According to Mr. Linh, in the recent past, the Government and ministries and branches have resolved a series of difficulties and obstacles of US enterprises in Vietnam, issued a Decree on MFN tax reduction, in which 13 groups of advantageous US goods benefited. In addition, many US projects in Vietnam have received attention, resolved and removed difficulties and obstacles.

"Currently, both sides still have space to discuss and negotiate to reach a mutually beneficial result," said Mr. Linh. According to Mr. Linh, this morning, right after the US announced the imposition of tariffs, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien sent a diplomatic note requesting the US to postpone the decision to impose tariffs to take time to discuss and find a reasonable solution for both sides.

"We are arranging a phone call between the two Ministers as well as at the technical level with colleagues at the US Trade Representative (USTR) as soon as possible," Mr. Linh shared.

Mr. Linh assessed that if the two sides cannot find a common voice, this tax imposition will have a certain negative impact on the export growth target. Therefore, in the coming time, close coordination between ministries, sectors and enterprises is needed to effectively implement the proposed solutions, to achieve the export growth target this year.

"Export enterprises need to take advantage of existing strengths such as 17 free trade agreements with over 60 countries and territories and 70 bilateral cooperation mechanisms to promote the diversification of export markets," Mr. Linh shared.

(According to TPO)

Source: https://baoyenbai.com.vn/12/348273/Minister of Industry and Trade-gui-cong-ham-de-nghi-My-tam-hoan-ap-thue.aspx