US imposes 46% tax on Vietnamese imports:

Producing export shoes at Vien Thinh Shoe Company Limited (Long An province).

VND/USD exchange rate increases sharply, stock market plummets

On April 3, the domestic exchange rate increased due to the impact of the world market's increase when on the afternoon of April 2, US time (ie early morning of April 3, Vietnam time), US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of very high tax rates on many countries and territories, in which the tax rate on imported goods from Vietnam is 46%.

At the State Bank, the central exchange rate was listed at 24,854 VND/USD, up 3 VND/USD compared to April 2. Thus, with a margin of +/-5%, the ceiling exchange rate on April 3 was 26,097 VND/USD, the floor exchange rate was 23,611 VND/USD. The reference exchange rate at the State Foreign Exchange Reserve Management Department was 23,662 VND/USD (buy) - 26,046 VND/USD (sell).

At commercial banks, the USD/VND exchange rate increased quite strongly. Specifically, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) listed the exchange rate at 25,570 VND/USD (buy) - 25,930 VND/USD (sell), an increase of 110 VND/USD in both buying and selling compared to the previous day. The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) listed the exchange rate at 25,540 VND/USD (buy) - 25,900 VND/USD (sell).

The new US tax rate also caused the price of precious metals to increase sharply. On the morning of April 3, the domestic gold price increased by 1 million VND/tael, reaching a new record of nearly 103 million VND/tael. Enterprises listed SJC gold bars at 100.1 million VND/tael (buy) - 102.8 million VND/tael (sell), an increase of 1 million VND/tael each way compared to the end of the previous day.

The price of gold rings also increased sharply. The levels of 102.8 million VND/tael and 102.9 million VND/tael are new records for the price of SJC gold bars and gold rings.

On the stock market, information about the 46% tax rate immediately had a strong impact on investor sentiment in the domestic market and sell orders were issued in large numbers in the morning session. Investors rushed to sell, causing most stocks to fall in price, including more than 200 stocks hitting the floor, pushing the VN-Index down 82 points. In the afternoon session, the market continued to decline. At the end of the session on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the VN-Index fell by 87.99 points (-6.68%), to 1,229.84 points, also the sharpest decline ever on the Vietnamese stock market; the VN30-Index stopped at 1,283.18 points after losing 93.76 points (-6.81%). The entire floor had nearly 40,000 billion VND traded. Foreign investors bought nearly 2,040 billion VND and sold over 5,674 billion VND.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index fell to 220.95 points after falling 17.18 points (-7.22%); the HNX30-Index fell 43.38 points (-8.91%) to 443.43 points. The entire exchange had 14 stocks increasing in price and 214 stocks decreasing in price. The total transfer value reached over VND2,600 billion.

Is it necessary to quickly and strongly reduce taxes on imported goods from the US?

At the regular press conference of the first quarter of 2025 of the Ministry of Finance, Deputy Director of the Department of Tax, Fee and Charge Policy Management and Supervision Truong Ba Tuan said that the 46% tax rate will negatively affect businesses, especially industries with a large proportion of exports to the US, such as electronic components, textiles, and footwear.

Previously, in order to proactively and flexibly adapt to developments in the macro-economic situation, the world situation and economic growth targets, the Ministry of Finance reviewed all import tax rates stipulated in the preferential import tax schedule, and then advised the Government.

On March 31, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 73/2025/ND-CP amending the preferential import tax rates of a number of items in the Preferential Import Tariff in Decree No. 26/2023/ND-CP, which significantly reduces the import tax rates of a number of groups of items that Vietnam's major trading partners are interested in, including the United States.

This Decree reduces import tax rates for 16 groups of goods such as automobiles, agriculture, wood, etc. This tax rate adjustment is aimed at trying to balance the trade balance with major partners, as well as helping domestic businesses and consumers access diverse markets at lower costs.

Also related to this issue, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi hopes that the reciprocal tax rate just announced is the maximum level, and the specific level can be considered; at the same time, he said that Vietnam has proactively reviewed and adjusted imported goods towards trade balance.

Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi said that relevant parties should persistently find solutions to share with their US partners, aiming for trade balance, which means increasing turnover without increasing taxes so that consumers of both countries can benefit.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, immediately after the US announced a 46% tax on all Vietnamese export goods, from April 9, the Ministry of Industry and Trade sent a diplomatic note requesting the US to postpone the decision to impose the tax to spend time discussing and finding a reasonable solution for both sides.

Speaking to reporters of the Hanoi Moi Newspaper, Dr. Le Quoc Phuong, former Deputy Director of the Center for Industry and Trade Information (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that to adapt to this tax rate, businesses must implement a series of solutions both in the short and long term.

In the short term, businesses need to negotiate with importers in the US to share the burden. Along with that, businesses need to cut and save costs to maintain profits and the US market because this is still a large and potential market.

In the long term, businesses need to continue to cut costs even more and diversify their markets. We are currently too dependent on the US market, accounting for nearly one-third of total exports, so the risk is quite high. In fact, businesses have made efforts to diversify their markets, but they need to do more, although this is costly but necessary.

On the Government's side, it should consider quickly and strongly reducing import taxes on goods from the US to continue to clearly demonstrate Vietnam's goodwill.

According to Dr. Le Quoc Phuong, Vietnam is a complementary economy to the US, many of Vietnam's export products do not compete with US goods, so protecting domestic production through tax reduction is not a concern. Looking at the world, even before the US President announced the tax policy, Israel was the country that quickly announced to reduce all import taxes on goods from the US to 0%. Vietnam does not necessarily have to do the same, but needs to reduce taxes on many groups of goods from the US without affecting domestic production too much in the current period.

In addition, it is necessary to take advantage of Vietnam's existing comprehensive strategic partnership with the US to urge the US to consider its goodwill and possibly reduce tariffs to a reasonable level in the near future, even if it takes at least half a year.

“In this context, the Government needs to have solutions to support businesses in the face of this shock without violating the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the same time, the Government continues to promote administrative reform, transparency in the investment and business environment, and faster response to adverse situations. The above measures need to be implemented more drastically and promptly to minimize negative impacts on the economy,” Dr. Le Quoc Phuong suggested.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/my-ap-thue-46-len-hang-nhap-khau-cua-viet-nam-tac-dong-ngay-trong-ngay-dau-tien-697828.html