HANOI, April 8 (Reuters) – Vietnam plans to increase its purchases of American goods, particularly in the areas of defense and security products. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh announced this decision in a statement released late on Monday. The statement also mentioned that Vietnam has requested a 45-day delay in the imposition of U.S. tariffs.
Vietnam aims to expedite the delivery of commercial planes ordered by Vietnamese airlines from the U.S., as stated by Chinh during a cabinet meeting. Last year, Vietnam recorded a trade surplus exceeding $123 billion with the U.S., its largest export market.
Chinh emphasized that Vietnam has requested the U.S. to postpone the 46% tariff rate announced last week by U.S. President Donald Trump, allowing time for negotiations. The statement highlighted Vietnam’s intention to “negotiate with the U.S. side for balanced and sustainable trade, in line with the interests of both sides.”
Following a phone call between Trump and Vietnam’s leader To Lam, both leaders agreed to discuss a deal to remove tariffs, describing the conversation as “very productive.”
In the statement, Chinh noted that Vietnam would reassess issues such as its monetary policy, exchange rate, non-tariff barriers, and ensuring the correct origin of goods. Since the lifting of an arms embargo in 2016, U.S. defense exports to Vietnam have primarily included coastguard ships and trainer aircraft. There were discussions last year regarding the sale of Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules military transport planes to Hanoi.
— new from Reuters