Overview

• During a June 4 hearing, Howard Lutnick told Senator John Kennedy he would “absolutely not” accept a deal where Vietnam removes all tariffs if the U.S. did the same, calling it “the silliest thing we could do.”
• Lutnick argued that Vietnam serves as a conduit for roughly $90 billion of Chinese goods marked up and sent to the U.S., undermining the principle of mutual market access.
• Senator Kennedy pressed the commerce secretary on the purpose of reciprocity in Trump’s tariff strategy, highlighting a contradiction with the stated goal of lowering other countries’ trade barriers.
• Lutnick said the administration would consider trade negotiations only if Vietnam agreed to stop sourcing products from China and focus on U.S. production.
• Separately, President Trump delayed a planned 50 percent tariff on EU imports until July 9 after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and maintained a 90-day pause on most other tariffs following a China deal.