Joint Statement of Vietnam and the United States on the Framework of the Reciprocal Trade Agreement

On October 26, Vietnam and the United States agreed to release the Vietnam-U.S. Joint Statement on the Framework for a Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade Agreement (Joint Statement) on the occasion of President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's participation in the ASEAN Summit held from October 26-28, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Joint Statement is a document that Vietnam and the United States have agreed upon to express the results of reciprocal trade negotiations between the two countries to date, as well as to acknowledge the efforts of Vietnamese and US government agencies and businesses in building economic and trade relations on a balanced, stable, and sustainable basis, in line with the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The joint statement addresses the key contents of the Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade, under which both Vietnam and the United States will cooperate constructively to address mutual concerns regarding non-tariff barriers, agree on commitments related to digital trade, services and investment; discuss intellectual property, sustainable development and enhance cooperation to improve supply chain resilience…

In the coming period, both sides will continue to discuss and implement further work towards completing a reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade agreement based on the principles of openness, constructive dialogue, equality, respect for independence, autonomy, political institutions, mutual benefit, and consideration of each other's level of development.

Since the end of April 2025, Vietnam and the United States have held numerous reciprocal trade negotiations at both the technical and ministerial levels. The Vietnamese government delegation, led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, included leaders and officials from the Ministries and agencies of Industry and Trade, Foreign Affairs, Public Security, Finance, Justice, Agriculture and Environment, Science and Technology, Interior, Construction, Health, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the Vietnamese Embassy in the United States. Many in-person and online negotiation sessions took place between Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Chief Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

In the early morning of August 1, 2025 (Vietnam time), the White House posted President Donald Trump's Executive Order on adjusting reciprocal tariffs, whereby the United States adjusted reciprocal tariffs for 69 countries and territories listed in Appendix I. According to this Appendix, the reciprocal tariff for Vietnam was reduced from 46% to 20%.

According to data from Vietnam Customs as of the end of September 2025, the total bilateral trade turnover reached approximately US$126.4 billion (an increase of 27.3% compared to the same period in 2024), of which Vietnam exported US$112.8 billion to the US (an increase of 27.7% compared to the same period in 2024; accounting for 32.3% of total exports); and imported US$13.66 billion from the US (an increase of 23.6% compared to the same period in 2024, accounting for 4.1% of total imports).

Source: https://vtv.vn/tuyen-bo-chung-viet-nam-va-hoa-ky-ve-khuon-kho-hiep-dinh-thuong-mai-doi-ung-100251026173445439.htm