Reuters
Kieu Quoc Thanh, the CEO of cashew export business SVC Group, says that everyone in his industry has been “feeling crazy” for the past two weeks.
Since United States President Donald Trump announced his since-paused “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2, Thanh has witnessed mass confusion among Vietnamese exporters.
Many businesses reliant on the US market are checking online hourly for updates on the tariffs, Thanh says, while he has a shipping container full of cashews bound for the US market currently sitting in limbo.
Since Trump announced a 90-day pause on Vietnam’s 46 percent tariff and duties on dozens of other countries, the US has imposed a baseline 10 percent levy on imports from all countries, including Vietnam.
But Thanh’s customers in the US and customs officers alike are uncertain how much to tax his products, he says.
“No one knows what’s happening,” Thanh told Al Jazeera at his Ho Chi Minh City office last week.
While businesses such as Thanh’s navigate the disruption, Hanoi and Washington are in discussions about a trade deal after agreeing to begin negotiations on April 10.
For Vietnam, one of the world’s most export-reliant economies, the stakes could scarcely be higher.
The US is the Southeast Asian country’s biggest export market, with shipments to it alone last year accounting for 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
While Trump’s tariff pause led to some hope in Vietnam, the country is on tenterhooks about what might happen next, said Tyler Manh Dung Nguyen, chief market strategist at equity firm Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.
“We are having a period of extreme uncertainty, not only for the financial market, but also for businesses,” Nguyen told Al Jazeera.
“It’s like a reality show,” Nguyen added. “Everything changes every day.”
Trump’s trade salvoes have drawn sharp contrast with the decades-long process of warming relations between Washington and Hanoi, culminating in the former enemies upgrading their ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2023.
For Eddie Thai, a Vietnamese American who co-founded the Ho Chi Minh City-based venture capital firm Ascend Vietnam Ventures, it has been disheartening to see relations come under strain, particularly ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30.
“I don’t think it has thrown us back 50 years, I wouldn’t say that far, but it is burning a lot of goodwill that a lot of people on both sides of the ocean have been trying to build since the 90s,” Thai told Al Jazeera, calling Trump’s dealing with Vietnam destructive and personally “disappointing as an American”.
With the US and Vietnam looking towards a trade deal, China, Hanoi’s biggest source of imports and its second-largest export destination, has loomed large over the negotiations.
On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi as part of a five-day tour of Southeast Asia, a trip widely seen as an effort to cast China as a more reliable trading partner for the region than the US.
Upon his arrival, Xi was greeted at the airport by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, and later received a 21-gun salute at Hanoi’s Presidential Palace.
Reacting to the warm reception for the Chinese leader, Trump suggested the countries would use their talks to scheme against the US.
“That’s a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, ‘How do we screw the United States of America?’” Trump told reporters at the White House.
According to Chinese state news outlet Xinhua, Xi urged Vietnam to resist “unilateral bullying” and stated that “China’s mega market is always open to Vietnam”.
During Xi’s visit, the countries signed 45 agreements, Chinese and Vietnamese media reported, without providing details of the deals.
With the US and China slapping each other’s goods with tariffs exceeding 100 percent, Vietnam has become the “diplomatic guy in the middle,” said Nguyen, the strategist at Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.
“[Hanoi] always tries to be neutral in every situation,” Nguyen said. “We do not side with one country to fight another country.”
Since United States President Donald Trump announced his since-paused “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2, Thanh has witnessed mass confusion among Vietnamese exporters.
Many businesses reliant on the US market are checking online hourly for updates on the tariffs, Thanh says, while he has a shipping container full of cashews bound for the US market currently sitting in limbo.
Since Trump announced a 90-day pause on Vietnam’s 46 percent tariff and duties on dozens of other countries, the US has imposed a baseline 10 percent levy on imports from all countries, including Vietnam.
But Thanh’s customers in the US and customs officers alike are uncertain how much to tax his products, he says.
“No one knows what’s happening,” Thanh told Al Jazeera at his Ho Chi Minh City office last week.
While businesses such as Thanh’s navigate the disruption, Hanoi and Washington are in discussions about a trade deal after agreeing to begin negotiations on April 10.
For Vietnam, one of the world’s most export-reliant economies, the stakes could scarcely be higher.
The US is the Southeast Asian country’s biggest export market, with shipments to it alone last year accounting for 30 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
While Trump’s tariff pause led to some hope in Vietnam, the country is on tenterhooks about what might happen next, said Tyler Manh Dung Nguyen, chief market strategist at equity firm Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.
“We are having a period of extreme uncertainty, not only for the financial market, but also for businesses,” Nguyen told Al Jazeera.
“It’s like a reality show,” Nguyen added. “Everything changes every day.”
Trump’s trade salvoes have drawn sharp contrast with the decades-long process of warming relations between Washington and Hanoi, culminating in the former enemies upgrading their ties to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in 2023.
For Eddie Thai, a Vietnamese American who co-founded the Ho Chi Minh City-based venture capital firm Ascend Vietnam Ventures, it has been disheartening to see relations come under strain, particularly ahead of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War on April 30.
“I don’t think it has thrown us back 50 years, I wouldn’t say that far, but it is burning a lot of goodwill that a lot of people on both sides of the ocean have been trying to build since the 90s,” Thai told Al Jazeera, calling Trump’s dealing with Vietnam destructive and personally “disappointing as an American”.
With the US and Vietnam looking towards a trade deal, China, Hanoi’s biggest source of imports and its second-largest export destination, has loomed large over the negotiations.
On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi as part of a five-day tour of Southeast Asia, a trip widely seen as an effort to cast China as a more reliable trading partner for the region than the US.
Upon his arrival, Xi was greeted at the airport by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong, and later received a 21-gun salute at Hanoi’s Presidential Palace.
Reacting to the warm reception for the Chinese leader, Trump suggested the countries would use their talks to scheme against the US.
“That’s a lovely meeting. Meeting like, trying to figure out, ‘How do we screw the United States of America?’” Trump told reporters at the White House.
According to Chinese state news outlet Xinhua, Xi urged Vietnam to resist “unilateral bullying” and stated that “China’s mega market is always open to Vietnam”.
During Xi’s visit, the countries signed 45 agreements, Chinese and Vietnamese media reported, without providing details of the deals.
With the US and China slapping each other’s goods with tariffs exceeding 100 percent, Vietnam has become the “diplomatic guy in the middle,” said Nguyen, the strategist at Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.
“[Hanoi] always tries to be neutral in every situation,” Nguyen said. “We do not side with one country to fight another country.”
