Proactively adapting to reciprocal tariffs from the United States

Yesterday afternoon (April 10), Mr. Bui Minh Tri, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, chaired a meeting to listen to reports from sectors assessing the impact of the US reciprocal import tax policy expected to be applied to Vietnamese goods and the level of influence of the reciprocal import tax policy on the operations of enterprises in the province; recommendations from enterprises to jointly overcome difficulties and find solutions to adapt to market fluctuations.

Restructuring production and customers

At the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Liem, Chairman of the Binh Duong Wood Processing Association (BIFA), said that the US Government's announcement of a reciprocal tax rate of up to 46% on Vietnamese goods is really a big difficulty for the wood export industry when the US market accounts for a large proportion of the wood industry's export turnover in the country in general and Binh Duong province in particular. "The wood industry has advised the Government to maximize the capacity to import materials from the US and has proposed an acceptable tax rate of 20% when entering the US market. To maintain the largest export market for the wood industry, we propose that there should be a trade dialogue solution to propose a direction to minimize risks," said Mr. Nguyen Liem.

Scene of the meeting to assess the impact of the US reciprocal import tax policy organized by the Provincial People's Committee on the afternoon of April 10. Photo: TIEU MY

According to Mr. Phan Thanh Duc, Vice President of Binh Duong Textile and Garment Association, this is the time to have a fundamental solution after negotiations with US customers. In the short term, the textile and garment industry will have to restructure customers and rearrange production. In the long term, if the source of raw materials originating from the US accounts for more than 20%, it will not be subject to reciprocal tax.

However, for businesses producing jeans, the United States is a key market. For the domestic market, Mr. Phan Thanh Duc hopes that the relevant agencies will support and create favorable conditions for businesses to overcome difficulties. Mr. Nguyen Chi Toan, Marketing Director of Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park Joint Venture Company Limited (VSIP Company), said that when the US Government imposed a 46% reciprocal tax on Vietnamese goods, the business community in the industrial park was very worried.

Mr. Bui Minh Tri, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee: Binh Duong will continue to direct departments, branches and localities to focus on implementing solutions to remove difficulties for investors to support the acceleration of investment progress, especially public investment projects, infrastructure projects... to support the consumption of domestically produced goods. Propose competent authorities to minimize inspection activities, except in urgent cases... from now until the end of June 2025.

However, VSIP Company informed businesses that the situation will be brighter when the Government has taken very receptive and timely actions and the situation has calmed down to some extent. Businesses are also making efforts to diversify import and export markets. Meanwhile, Mr. Kim Huyn Ho, General Director of Kumho Tire Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Ben Cat City), said that the company's revenue is about 900 million USD/year, of which 80% of products are exported to the US market. The company hopes that the Vietnamese Government will continue to negotiate to create favorable conditions for businesses; propose that Binh Duong province support businesses in administrative procedures to overcome current difficulties...

Mr. Xu Mei Jun, General Director of Motomotion Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Ben Cat City), shared that the company has invested in Binh Duong since 2018, with an average annual revenue of VND 7,600 billion. If the US Government imposes a 46% reciprocal tax, businesses will face many difficulties. The company recommends that it needs procedural support for foreign experts to come to Vietnam to train and improve skills, increasing labor productivity for businesses.

Together to overcome difficulties

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Deputy Head of the Regional Customs Department XVI, said that the heat of the US market's reciprocal tax issue from businesses has now cooled down. According to statistics, as of the morning of April 10, 31 businesses in the province had their orders canceled; the customs agency has canceled 88 declarations according to regulations.

Business representative speaking at the meeting

The XVI Region Customs Branch recommends that the customs sector continue to create the most favorable conditions for businesses to carry out customs procedures, specifically reducing or exempting the rate of physical inspection of goods, switching to container scanners to help businesses shorten the time for customs clearance of goods; for tax refund dossiers, businesses conduct quick inspections or refund first, check later so that businesses have capital to maintain operations... "With the spirit of accompanying businesses, the XVI Region Customs Branch continues to proactively implement many solutions to support businesses. Specifically, the branch continues to set up teams in the area to directly visit businesses with goods exported to the US market to grasp the problems and difficulties of businesses in the export process. From there, synthesize, make recommendations and handle them according to their authority to create the most favorable conditions for businesses", Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh emphasized.

Mr. Ha Van Ut, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said that the industry and trade sector is focusing on supporting businesses to implement trade promotion programs for the US market; advising the Provincial People's Committee to establish a provincial Trade Defense Steering Committee; effectively implementing international economic integration and diversifying export markets.

The industry and trade sector also promotes the rapid development of supporting industries and raw material centers serving industrial production, meeting regulations on the localization rate of exported goods; at the same time, closely coordinates with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to implement proactive solutions to respond and flexibly adapt to the risk of escalating trade wars in the coming time.

Concluding the meeting, Mr. Bui Minh Tri, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that Binh Duong is making great efforts to come up with solutions to support businesses in sustainable development, overcoming the heat of reciprocal taxes from the US market. Businesses need to be proactive and flexible in production and business activities; stay calm, grasp information promptly, and proactively negotiate with partners to make the best decisions at a time when the market is changing rapidly.

On April 10, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day moratorium on reciprocal tariffs on more than 75 countries and reduced reciprocal tariffs to 10% during this period, effective immediately, except for China, where the tariff rate will increase to 125%. This decision opens the door for negotiations to ease global trade tensions.

TIEU MY

Source: https://baobinhduong.vn/chu-dong-thich-ung-voi-muc-thue-doi-ung-tu-hoa-ky-bai-cuoi-a345097.html