Overview

• Vietnamese Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a phone call on April 24 to define the principles, scope, and roadmap for trade negotiations.
• Vietnam is working to avert a 46% tariff imposed under President Trump's reciprocal trade policy, currently paused for 90 days and replaced with a 10% baseline duty.
• Hanoi has proposed purchasing more US goods, including liquefied natural gas and aircraft, while pledging to remove tariffs on US imports and combat trade fraud concerns.
• Vietnam Airlines and Vietcombank signed a provisional deal to finance 50 aircraft, potentially fulfilling a 2023 commitment to purchase Boeing 737 Max planes.
• Analysts suggest Vietnam may consider acquiring Lockheed F-16 fighter jets as part of broader concessions, though this remains speculative at this stage.