HANOI – Vietnam’s prime minister has ordered his negotiation team to “thoroughly prepare” for tariff talks with the United States, while avoiding any impact elsewhere, as the nation seeks to make swift progress in averting one of the largest US tariffs.

The negotiations should ensure consistency with Vietnam’s existing international commitments, and “prevent negative impacts on other markets”, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said in a meeting in Hanoi on April 22.

On April 18, Mr Chinh hailed the country’s “unique bond” with the US, just days after hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which 45 deals were signed to deepen economic ties. Vietnam’s leaders had a muted response to Mr Xi’s call to jointly oppose “unilateral bullying” in a subtle jab at the US, underscoring Hanoi’s careful diplomatic dance between the two powers.

Vietnam was among the first countries singled out by US President Donald Trump for showing willingness to negotiate over the tariffs. The two countries announced talks hours after Mr Trump declared a 90-day pause on higher tariffs, which he has temporarily pared back to 10 per cent. Vietnam was facing a 46 per cent duty on products shipped to its biggest export market.

The South-east Asian nation has repeatedly vowed to purchase more American goods and has taken steps such as tightening measures targeting origin of goods fraud. The move is widely seen as addressing one of the Trump team’s key concerns: Chinese goods being shipped to the US via Vietnam to sidestep tariffs.

In the latest push, the trade ministry revoked the right for any other organisation to issue certificates of product origin, in an effort to show that it is further stepping up the fraud crackdown, news website Tien Phong reported.

The prime minister reiterated that Vietnamese goods do not compete with those of the US and that “bilateral trade relations so far have ultimately benefited US consumers while driving Vietnam’s export growth”.

Vietnam stands ready to have talks based on US suggestions, Mr Chinh added.

Underscoring the government’s push, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry sent letters to the US Department of Commerce, US Chamber of Commerce, US-Asean Business Council, and others to seek support in asking the US to delay the imposition of tariffs on Vietnam, according to a post on the chamber’s website on April 22. BLOOMBERG

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