Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at a meeting on April 29, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam government portal
Vietnam needs to buy more U.S. products, including liquefied natural gas, airplanes and medicines, for the sake of trade balance, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said.
At a governmental meeting held Tuesday to discuss the U.S.’s reciprocal tariffs, Chinh said Vietnam’s trade negotiations are going well, but contracts to import U.S. products are needed to ensure they continue smoothly, he said.
The Trump administration has suspended for 90 days the high rates of reciprocal tariffs it announced on its trade partners, including Vietnam. The current temporary rate is 10%.
A team from Vietnam is expected to visit the U.S. on Thursday for negotiations on bilateral trade.
Chinh has sought negotiations to make import duties by the two countries balanced and low.
Vietnam also plans to ask the U.S. to recognize it as a market economy and lift restrictions on the export of high technologies.
Chinh said negotiations must ensure Vietnam’s sovereignty, national security the interests of its people and that it could meet its international commitments.
