At the start of US-Vietnam trade negotiations, the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade strongly criticizes Trump's "equal tariffs" as unreasonable.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Trade, as Vietnam and the United States government initiate bilateral trade negotiations, has called the Trump administration's so-called "equal tariffs" unreasonable. The Ministry has requested Vietnamese domestic companies and associations to write letters to officials of the relevant US trade department, complaining about the tariffs imposed by the Trump-led policy towards Vietnam, and expressing support for long-term cooperation with American partners to seek their support in maintaining normal trade flow of Vietnamese goods to the US. According to a post on the official website of the Ministry, at an important meeting on Thursday, the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade requested domestic companies and associations to write to some US officials, complaining about the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Vietnam. The post also stated that the Ministry instructed these groups and businesses to actively and long-term cooperate with American companies, seek support from the American people and the majority of politicians, and thus maintain the normal trade flow of Vietnamese goods to the US market. Vietnam is one of the first countries to announce the opening of trade negotiations with the United States. Currently, Vietnam, which is highly dependent on export trade, is facing the highest tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Trump believes that he can revive the US manufacturing industry that has been moving overseas for decades through this measure. On April 2, when Trump announced the equal tariffs policy globally, he announced tariffs of up to 46% on Vietnam, which were later temporarily reduced to 10% for 90 days to allow time for trade negotiations. On Thursday, Trump vigorously promoted the first trade cooperation agreement reached with the UK, but the agreement seemed far from the "comprehensive" level he promised, and many key details still need further negotiations. The Trump administration has decided to impose astounding tariffs of up to 145% on China (one of the top three trading partners of the US) and temporarily exempt most countries from radical equal tariffs within 90 days, instead imposing a minimum 10% benchmark tariff on these countries. Many forecasters have warned that the global economy will sharply slow down in the future, and some even predict a deep economic recession in the US this year. On Wednesday, the Vietnamese government stated that it has instructed local companies to purchase a large amount of higher value and more advanced technology imported goods from the US in order to avoid the punitive high tariffs imposed by the US, which are the most important export market for Vietnamese products. According to the post on the official website, at the meeting on Thursday, the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade requested companies and associations to provide data to prove that Vietnamese export products meet all the requirements of the US government regarding goods manufactured in Vietnam. The post also stated that the Vietnamese Ministry of Trade requested local companies to seek alternative export markets other than the US and mentioned that Vietnam has signed multiple trade agreements with several major global economies.