Vietnam Ready to Increase U.S. Agricultural Imports

By Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam stands ready to import more farm products from the United States, according to a statement from trade minister Nguyen Hong Dien on Friday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose global reciprocal tariffs.

The Southeast Asian export hub, home to manufacturing operations of multinationals including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung (KS:005930), could be hit hard by any new tariffs. Last year, it posted a record $123.5 billion trade surplus with the U.S., the largest after China, the European Union, and Mexico.

“Vietnam is ready to open its market and increase imports of agricultural products from the United States,” Dien told U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper at a meeting this week, as stated by the Vietnamese government on Friday.

More than one-fourth of U.S. exports to Vietnam last year were agricultural products, mostly cotton, soybeans, and tree nuts, totaling $3.4 billion, according to U.S. government data.

A White House official, who spoke to reporters on Thursday, said the administration would study countries with the biggest trade surpluses and highest tariffs first.

Among top U.S. trading partners, Vietnam is one of the countries with the largest tariff gaps, charging higher import duties than those applied by the U.S.

Vietnam imposes average import duties of 9.4%, according to the World Trade Organization.

Last week, the government of the export-reliant country, whose largest market is the United States, established a working group to address any rising risks from trade tensions.

Addressing Trade Gaps

Trump has not explicitly mentioned Vietnam as a trade target, but new 25% tariffs imposed this week by the U.S. on steel and aluminum have already affected the Southeast Asian nation. Many of Vietnam’s steel exports to the U.S. had faced 25% duties before, making the impact less severe than on other exporters, said an industry official.

For Vietnamese aluminum, existing U.S. tariffs had been at 10%, according to Do Ngoc Hung, Vietnam’s trade representative in the United States.

To reduce the trade surplus, Vietnamese officials have discussed the possible purchase of U.S. liquefied natural gas with the Trump administration, multiple officials said.

Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet has also agreed to buy 200 Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX jets in a multi-billion dollar deal first signed in 2016 and subsequently revised. No planes have yet been delivered, although the company had anticipated receiving the first jets last year.

Vietnam has also been in talks to buy Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) C-130 Hercules military transport planes, officials have said.

Additionally, the Trump Organization has agreed to develop a $1.5 billion golf course in Vietnam, its local partner reported in October.