The Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said it and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi (AmCham) sent a letter to the US Secretary of Commerce on Saturday (April 5), officially requesting the Trump administration to suspend the plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on Vietnamese goods.

A joint letter from VCCI and AmCham - two organizations representing the business communities of the two countries - expressed deep concern over President Trump's announcement of the possibility of imposing tariffs.

The letter stressed that these new, high and unexpected tariffs, if implemented, would cause serious disruption to business operations, negatively impact existing trade transactions and disrupt logistics supply chains.

Therefore, the imposition of new taxes will negatively affect the operations of member businesses and consumers as well as affect bilateral trade relations.

The two organizations also argued that reducing tariffs on goods imported into Vietnam and products serving US consumers would truly support US businesses, the economy and people, not increasing tariffs.

VCCI and AmCham also expressed confidence in the Vietnamese Government’s efforts to implement positive solutions to improve the bilateral trade balance and remove barriers for US businesses. The letter cited Vietnam’s recent reduction of tariffs on 13 groups of goods last week, bringing practical benefits to US exporters, along with the commitment of Vietnamese leaders to facilitate the import of more products from the US.

The two associations also pledged to continue to work closely with relevant authorities to address outstanding issues, such as digital trade, pharmaceutical imports, intellectual property rights, customs and tax procedures, government procurement, data management and security.

The letter asserted that Vietnam is one of the fastest growing export markets for the United States with great potential for US businesses in many sectors thanks to its growing middle class. The two economies were emphasized as being highly complementary rather than directly competitive.

In addition, VCCI and AmCham also expressed support for the proposal to move towards a bilateral trade agreement to remove tariffs and barriers, as in the spirit of the phone call between President Trump and General Secretary To Lam last Friday.

A fair and quick agreement will create stability for businesses and help balance trade in a sustainable and mutually beneficial manner. Therefore, representatives of the business communities of the two countries hope that the governments of the two sides will have an open dialogue and cooperate to develop a specific action plan, contributing to reducing the US trade deficit with Vietnam in the direction of improving living standards and promoting common prosperity.