HCMC Chairman: US tariffs disrupt development plans this year

On the morning of April 9, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc chaired a workshop on economic growth in the face of the impact of the new US tariff policy.

The conference took place in the context of US President Donald Trump announcing a new tariff policy for 60 countries around the world, of which Vietnam is one of the countries subject to the highest tax rates.

Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc said that this tax will certainly affect the economy of Ho Chi Minh City and change and disrupt development plans this year. According to Mr. Duoc, with the high tax, the more Vietnamese goods are exported to the US, the more disadvantageous it will be because of reduced competitiveness, the same goes for American goods imported into Vietnam.

Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc speaks at the workshop. Photo: Minh Hiep.

According to Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc, the growth rate of Ho Chi Minh City this year assigned by the Government is 8.5%. With this tax situation, it will certainly have a great impact on the city's tasks and goals.

“How will this new context impact us, what is our ability to complete and to what extent?”, Mr. Duoc raised the issue and asked experts, economists, associations and businesses to contribute and propose so that the city can proactively propose scenarios to respond to the expected tax rate that will soon be applied.

Proposing some response options, Dr. Truong Minh Huy Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies - said that it is too early to give a specific scenario because it depends on the results of the upcoming negotiation round.

According to Mr. Vu, the US is Vietnam’s main export market, especially for products such as electricity, electronics, wood, textiles, footwear, etc. Ho Chi Minh City has a high trade surplus with its partners in the US market. On the other hand, Ho Chi Minh City’s economy is symbiotically and organically linked with the entire Southeast region. Therefore, if the exports of other localities are affected, it will also affect Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Vu presented three growth scenarios corresponding to the tax rates from the US. Among them, the low growth scenario is if the US maintains the 46% tax policy. The medium growth scenario is if Vietnam partially negotiates and reduces the tax rate to 20-30%. The best growth scenario is the most optimistic if the tax rate is 10-15%.

Ngo Tung

Source: https://tienphong.vn/chu-tich-tphcm-viec-ap-thue-cua-my-lam-dao-lon-du-dinh-phat-trien-nam-nay-post1732166.tpo