Southeast Asia is particularly threatened by US customs policy. Vietnam, for example, meet tariffs of 46 percent. For many companies, the country was recently an alternative to the China production site.
No region has documented Donald Trump with as high tariffs as Southeast Asia. Cambodia, for example, meet tariffs of 49 percent. Vietnam in the amount of 46 percent. According to an analysis of the foreign trade society Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), around 5,000 German companies are currently working in the Asean region, with increasing trends. Many international corporations use Vietnam as a production hub, such as Apple, Samsung or Nike. The sporting goods manufacturer produces about half of his sneakers in Vietnam.
Samsung employees in Cambodia are now worried about their jobs. In front of the workshop, they tell a reporter from the Reuters news agency that they fear that the business is shrinking and their wages could fall so that the money is no longer enough to survive.
Offer from Vietnam
The Secretary General of the Vietnam’s Communist Party, to Lam, was one of the first to call and negotiate about the high tariffs. Vietnam’s deputy head of government HO Duc Phoc will meet the US finance minister today. After that, talks with Boeing, SpaceX and Apple are planned.
Vietnam has already offered to reduce its import duties to US goods to zero if the two countries should agree. The government in Hanoi also tries to create a deal with liquid gas and aircraft purchases from the USA. Vietnam has already reduced its tariffs to apples, almonds and cherries, said US trade officer Jamieson Greer.
Export articles: furniture, clothing, electronics
The United States is the most important export market for Vietnam, especially for furniture, clothing and electronics. The country has one of the highest trading surpluses with the United States of more than $ 123 billion. Among other things, this is due to the fact that Vietnam has increasingly positioned itself as an alternative to China production location in recent years. After Trump had imposed tariffs on Chinese imports during his first term, many companies moved their production to Vietnam or Cambodia.
Economic experts fear that the tariffs now imposed could question this concept. Because this eliminates part of the incentive for relocating factories to the region. According to the calculation of economic experts, the tariffs could mean a loss of around five percent of its gross domestic product for Vietnam.
Strategic partnership since 2023
The massive tariffs stand in a blatant contrast to the USA’s attempts to approach Vietnam. It was not until 2023 that the two former opponents celebrated a new strategic partnership – a step that was considered a milestone 50 years after the Vietnam War. The United States wanted to tie Vietnam closer to it as a bulwark against China and partner in the Indopazific. The current customs conflict could weaken the influence of the United States in the region.
The EU could be a winner of the trade war. Vietnam, as well as the other states of Southeast Asia, will probably have to open up new sales markets in the future. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already announced her visit to Vietnam.
The Asean countries have announced that they want to send a delegation to Washington to negotiate the tariffs. Malaysia’s head of government Anwar Ibrahim said that Asean does not believe in “megaphone diplomacy”, but is looking for the gentle dialogue.
