General Secretary To Lam had a phone call with US President Donald Trump. Photo: VNA.
According to observers, the phone call between the two leaders of Vietnam and the US is expected to help "cool down" tensions and allow for further negotiations, especially in the context of Vietnam being declared by the US to impose a fairly high symmetrical tariff of up to 46% on exports.
The exchange between the two leaders was seen as a clear sign that tariffs are a negotiable issue with the current US administration.
Referring to the phone call with General Secretary To Lam almost immediately afterwards, President Trump said it was a "very productive" exchange, with both sides agreeing to discuss an agreement to eliminate the 46% tariff on Vietnam.
At noon on April 4, 2025, US time, US President Donald Trump said he had just "had a very productive phone call" with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam. Screenshot
In a post on his social network Truth Social, President Trump said that General Secretary To Lam told him that "Vietnam wants to cut tariffs to zero if they can reach a deal with the US". Besides, Mr. Trump also did not forget to send his thanks when saying: "On behalf of the country, I thank him and look forward to meeting soon in the near future".
Commenting on the above phone call, Mr. Zachary Abuza, Professor at the National War College in Washington DC (USA) specializing in Southeast Asian political and security issues, said that the Vietnamese side clearly understands that tariffs are "a negotiating tactic" of the current US administration.
“The Vietnamese really understand transactional politics,” said Zachary Abuza, adding that Vietnam’s leaders have every reason to “proactively reach out” to the Trump administration because Vietnam’s economic modernization is based on attracting foreign investment.
Meanwhile, Mr. Carl Thayer, emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales in Australia, specializing in Southeast Asia, said before the phone call between the two leaders of Vietnam and the US, there were still many questions about whether the tariff level was negotiable.
However, he said that the phone call between the two leaders of Vietnam and the US mentioned above helped the world understand more about President Trump's tariffs.
“We now know that (US President) Trump’s tariffs are negotiable. That will have a huge positive impact on the market,” Mr. Thayer said.
Mr. Thayer also emphasized that this development is “extremely important” because Vietnam has a large trade surplus with the US, right after China and Mexico. “Now the pressure will be on other countries to follow suit,” he added.
Assessing the symmetrical tariff that the US announced to impose on Vietnam's exports, Professor Thayer said that the 46% tax rate also means that Vietnam's competitors such as India, Thailand and Malaysia will have a certain advantage in the textile, footwear and electronics industries.
The SCMP also mentioned that on April 3, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the 46% tariff rate that the US announced to impose was “not suitable for the good relationship between the two countries”. After that, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the establishment of a Rapid Response Team to immediately resolve the related situation.
The newspaper also quoted the statement of former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office Nguyen Sy Dung as saying, “Vietnam will overcome this challenging period with the mindset of an increasingly mature, resilient and responsible nation and economy.”
Binh Thanh/Tin Tuc Newspaper
Source: https://baotintuc.vn/the-gioi/gioi-hoc-gia-nuoc-ngoai-danh-gia-tich-cuc-ket-qua-cuoc-dien-dam-giua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-va-tong-thong-my-trump-20250405160912931.htm
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