"Vietnam's tax is much lower than the 90% calculated by the US"

The US applies reciprocal import tax to more than 180 trading partners, ranging from 10-50%. Vietnam is among the countries with the highest tax rate, with a tax rate of 46%. This tax rate is set to "reciprocate" the import tax Vietnam is applying to goods from the US, which is about 90%, according to this country's calculation.

However, at a regular press conference on April 3, Mr. Truong Ba Tuan, Deputy Director of the Tax Policy Department (Ministry of Finance) affirmed that Vietnam's tariff level applied to imported goods from the US is "much lower than the 90% figure calculated by the US".

The US reciprocal tariff schedule announced by President Donald Trump on April 2. In which, Vietnam is assessed by the US to have charged a 90% tax rate on US goods. Photo: AFP

Mr. Tuan cited information from a report by the US trade agency, saying that the average tax rate applied by Vietnam to its goods is only about 9.4%. Of which, most US goods exported to Vietnam are subject to the highest tax of 15% or lower.

The representative of the Ministry of Finance said that the US tax base includes many factors, not just purely based on tax rates. Therefore, the management agency will specifically study this tax base to have appropriate solutions.

With the newly announced tax rate of 46%, Mr. Tuan said that this rate is "much higher than the actual rate being applied". According to him, this will have a negative impact on many manufacturing industries, especially those with large export proportions such as electronics, agriculture, textiles, footwear, etc.

Also at the press conference, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyen Duc Chi affirmed that Vietnam wants to move towards trade balance, but this must be in a direction that is "better for all parties".

"The direction is to persistently find solutions and discuss with trade partners to balance the direction of increasing turnover without increasing taxes," he said, believing that this will also help consumers of both countries benefit.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Duc Chi said that this weekend, the Government leaders will visit the US to discuss many issues directly related to the US's reciprocal tax imposition. "We believe that the level announced by the US government is the maximum, the specific level will still be considered," Mr. Chi said, hoping that the upcoming information exchanges will be listened to by partners and appropriate steps will be taken.

According to data from the Customs Department, in 2024, Vietnam will export goods worth 119.5 billion USD to the US and import 15.1 billion USD from this market. There are 15 billion USD export items, of which 3 dominant groups include computers - components with 23.2 billion USD; machinery and equipment and textiles with 22 billion and 16.2 billion USD, respectively.

Telephones, wood and footwear are also groups of products that bring in large value, ranging from 8.3 to 9.8 billion USD. Agricultural products also make important contributions, such as cashew nuts and seafood with 1.15 billion and 1.83 billion USD respectively, or coffee with nearly 323 million USD.

In fact, the Ministry of Finance has recently reviewed the overall import tax rates and advised the Government on appropriate solutions to adapt to the fluctuations. Most recently, the Government issued Decree 73 amending the MFN tax rates for a number of goods, effective from the date of signing. Accordingly, Vietnam has reduced taxes on 16 groups of goods, such as cars, wood, LNG, agricultural products (chicken thighs, cherries, apples)...

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/thue-viet-nam-dang-ap-thap-hon-nhieu-muc-90-my-tinh-toan-post285355.html