On March 11, 2026, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced the launch of a large-scale investigation under Section 301, related to systemic overcapacity and overproduction at 16 key trading partners, including Vietnam. Just one day later, March 12, 2026, USTR continued to launch another investigation under Section 301 against 60 countries related to forced labor.
At the regular press conference for the first quarter of 2026 on April 9, Ms. Nguyen Quynh Mai - Deputy Director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that the survey applies to many countries, including developed economies such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. These are all economies with high levels of openness. Therefore, the survey is not only applied to economies that have not been recognized as market economies, but is carried out in a wider scope.
Leaders of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department affirmed that in the past time, economic, trade and investment relations between Vietnam and the United States have continued to develop positively, bringing many benefits to businesses and people of both countries.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade and related ministries and sectors have been and are regularly exchanging with the US side on related policies, including contents on tax negotiations and coordination in providing information to serve the investigation process under Section 301.
In the coming time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to closely coordinate with the US side to share information and clarify issues related to Vietnam's policies. Thereby helping the US side understand that the policies of the Vietnamese Government are built and implemented on the basis of international economic integration and the development of an open and transparent economy. Vietnam does not issue subsidy policies to create a surplus capacity situation for export to the US market.
The goal is to build a suitable policy framework, creating conditions for the two sides to maintain stable, long-term and mutually beneficial cooperative relations for both economies," Ms. Nguyen Quynh Mai emphasized.
Representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade also affirmed that the Vietnamese economy operates according to market mechanisms and the production and business activities of Vietnamese enterprises fully comply with relevant regulations, including commitments and regulations of the World Trade Organization.
At the press conference, informing about tax negotiations with the United States, Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan said that they are currently continuing to be implemented and have completed 6 rounds of negotiations.
Basically, the two sides have reached a fairly high consensus and their views are relatively close. However, there are still some contents that need to be further discussed and resolved in the coming time," said the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.
Recently, the US Supreme Court issued a ruling related to tax policy, which rejected some contents regarding the application of the previous tax rate. Based on this ruling, the United States immediately applied Article 122 to apply a common tax rate of 10% to all countries.
If previously some items were subject to a tax rate of about 20%, now the tax rate has been adjusted down to 10%. This is a favorable factor for Vietnamese businesses and Vietnamese export goods to the US market," Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan analyzed and noted that this is a temporary regulation, the 10% tax rate is only applied for a period of 150 days.
Currently, Vietnamese functional agencies are continuing to exchange with the US side and closely monitor policy movements. According to the procedures of Section 301, the US side will implement a separate legal procedure. The deadline for countries, including Vietnam, to submit responses related to the concerns raised by the US side is April 15.
Vietnam is actively and fully participating in this process, preparing responses and closely coordinating with the United States. The goal is to maximize national interests and the interests of Vietnamese businesses in the process of handling bilateral trade issues," Deputy Minister Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan emphasized.
