Vietnamese firms bemoan ‘absurdity’ of Trump’s higher tariff as US orders fall

As part of President Donald Trump’s move to impose ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, Vietnam will face a levy of 46 per cent on its exports to the US

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Vietnamese garment workers at a factory in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam’s textile and other industries will face a 46 per cent tariff for exports to the US. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:00pm, 5 Apr 2025Updated: 7:24pm, 5 Apr 2025

The president of a Ho Chi Minh City-based association representing companies in sectors ranging from manufacturing to energy in Vietnam has been despairing over the hefty 46 per cent tariff rate to be imposed by Washington on the Southeast Asian country’s exports to the US.

“This is a shock, an absurdity,” said Do Phuoc Tong, whose Ho Chi Minh City Association Mechanical – Electrical Enterprises (HAMEE) represents more than 30 member companies.

With President Donald Trump’s decision to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on all US trading partners including Vietnam on Wednesday, some industry players have called for a doubling down of Vietnam’s strategy to focus on the private sector to drive its economy.

As a result of the higher tariff, American clients had cancelled contracts with some companies overnight, Tong told This Week in Asia.

Among them, several plastic packaging firms had received emails from their customers in the US, telling them to halt all manufacturing activities and shipments of goods, he added.

“These are all their long-term customers, whose goods they have always tried to produce in extra amounts and deliver before deadlines,” Tong said.