Vietnamese prime minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) speaks at the government office in Hanoi on Friday. (AP pic)
HANOI: Vietnam said it cut import duties on a range of goods including cars, liquefied gas and some agricultural products, with concerns escalating ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned unveiling of sweeping tariffs on “all countries”.
The announcement came after prime minister Pham Minh Chinh said last month that Hanoi was reviewing levies to encourage increased imports from the US.
Washington’s trade deficit with Vietnam is the third highest of any country, after China and Mexico, and there are increasing fears it could be a key target of the White House’s tariff drive, which has sent shockwaves through global markets.
“From March 31, 2025, certain items such as cars, wood, ethanol, frozen chicken legs, pistachios, almonds, fresh apples, cherries, raisins, etc., will be subject to a new preferential import duty rate,” a statement said late on Monday on the government’s official news portal.
It added that import duties on some cars will be halved and the tax rate for liquefied natural gas will drop from 5% to 2%.
Tariffs on frozen chicken legs will be reduced from 20% to 15%, the rates on unshelled pistachios will be slashed from 15% to 5%, and for almonds it will drop from 10% to 5%.
The finance ministry said last week that the changes were to “cope with the complicated and unpredictable developments of the world’s geopolitical and economic situation, especially the changes in economic, trade and tariff policies”.
Trump said on Sunday that tariffs would apply to “all countries”, not just those with the largest trade imbalances with the US, but added on Monday that he would be “very kind” to trading partners.
Vietnam also said last week that it would allow Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch its Starlink satellite internet service as part of a pilot programme that will last until the end of 2030.
There is no limit on foreign ownership of the service, the government said.
Chinh also told US ambassador Marc Knapper last month that Vietnam was “actively addressing the current concerns of the US in economic-trade-investment relations”, including sending its top trade official to the US.
The US deficit with Vietnam hit US$123.5 billion in 2024, up more than 18% from 2023, according to the office of the US trade representative.
Vietnam is a manufacturing powerhouse that is heavily reliant on exports and the US was its biggest market last year.
