Hanoi (Reuters) – American and Vietnamese companies asked Donald Trump’s administration to delay the implementation of the 46% customs duties project on products from Vietnam, believing that this surcharge would prejudice them and harm trade relations between the two countries.

In a letter dated on Saturday and addressed to the American secretary of trade, Howard Lutnick, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Hanoi claim that the American customs duties, which will come into force next Wednesday, are “scandalously high”.

“Lower customs duties for products entering Vietnam and for products intended for the American consumer are what will help companies, the economy and American consumers,” write AMCHAM and the VCCI. “Higher customs duties will not allow it,” insist the two chambers.

Vietnam, which houses many production factories for Western companies, recorded in 2024 a trade surplus of more than $ 123 billion with the United States.

President Donald Trump and Vietnamese leader TO LAM agreed on Friday to discuss an agreement to remove customs duties, the two men said after a telephone call qualified by the tenant of the White House as “very productive”.

Even before the announcement on Wednesday by Donald Trump on new customs duties, Vietnam had reduced several of its surcharge as part of a series of concessions made in the United States. Among these concessions is the promise of buying more American products such as planes and agricultural products.

“A quick and fair agreement would reassure companies and help to correct the commercial imbalance between the two countries in a beneficial manner for both parties,” also argued the Amcham and the VCCI.

(Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio report; Claude Chendjou)

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