May 22, 2017

"When Vietnam's prime minister visits the White House as early as next week, he will probably push for a free trade deal with the United States. That agreement would mean gold to Vietnam, where the fast-growing economy depends on shipments of manufactured exports to developed countries. The PM’s reminder would press U.S. President Donald Trump over a pledge to sign one-on-one agreements as a replacement for the 12-country Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Trump dropped out of the deal because he felt it was a raw deal for American workers. But he might not make Vietnam top priority for a two-way trade deal, especially since it views the Southeast Asian state as a nefarious net exporter with a $32 billion trade deficit in 2016.

In case Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc doesn’t get anywhere on opening trade negotiations with Washington, his government can turn to increasingly attractive plans B and C."

Read more:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphjennings/2017/05/22/vietnam-can-finally-afford-to-challenge-washington-on-trade/#f97c9fa539a9