Today is a big day: counterpart taxes, Trump wrote on social media before making a statement on February 13.
Reuters quoted a White House official as saying that the tariffs will not take effect immediately but will be implemented in the next few weeks, after the Trump administration's economic and trade team completed reviewing bilateral trade relations.
The US will prioritize handling of most serious cases, including countries with large trade surpluses with the US and imposing the highest tariffs on US goods. Measures will also deal with non-tax barriers such as strict regulations, value-added tax (VAT), government subsidies and exchange rate policies that make it difficult for US exports.
Speaking with Lao Dong on the morning of February 14, Tham An, Head of the Vietnam Trade Agency in the US - Mr. Do Ngoc Hung informed that on February 13, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a document requesting the USTR and the US Department of Commerce to propose a new tax rate for each country (country by country) to rebalance trade relations.
Mr. Do Ngoc Hung said that the tariffs built for each US partner are not only to deal with the problem of taxes imposed by countries on US exports but also towards the non-tax barriers that countries are applying.
"With the review not stopping within the tariff scope but being expanded to other barriers, the Trump administration is taking cautious, solid and comprehensive steps to assess the US international trade structure.
From there, there are directions for reform and renegotiation to ensure the interests of the US. This is also consistent with the response at the recent hearing of the candidate of the US Trade Representative - Mr. Greer at the American Hospital" - Mr. Do Ngoc Hung commented.
Mr. Do Ngoc Hung emphasized that with this approach, countries will face more difficulties when tariffs are the content that can be proactively reviewed and adjusted, but non-tax barriers will be a major obstacle for each country when negotiating with the US. Countries will also be passive as the US may choose barriers to request negotiations.
By spending more time researching, countries also have more opportunities to discuss/oreducate with the US on future plans.
