HANOI: Vietnam and the United States held their first direct ministerial-level negotiations on Friday against the backdrop of an impending US tariff of 46 percent on imports from the Southeast Asian nation, which could significantly impact its growth.
The Vietnamese trade ministry said in a statement released on Saturday that the meeting, which occurred in Jeju, South Korea, following the 31st APEC Ministerial Meeting on Trade, symbolized both nations’ commitment to fostering a stable economic, trade, and investment relationship.
The talks follow a phone call last month between Vietnamese trade minister Nguyen Hong Dien and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that officially started negotiations.
“USTR Greer agreed with Vietnam’s current approach and proposal,” the trade ministry’s statement said. “The United States hopes that with the mutual efforts, the technical-level negotiations in the coming days will yield positive results.”
The US has postponed the implementation of the 46 percent tariff on Vietnam until July. If enforced, the levy could disrupt growth in Vietnam, which is heavily dependent on sales to the United States, its largest export market, and substantial foreign investments in manufacturing goods for export.
Vietnam has the fourth-largest trade surplus among all US trading partners, worth $123.5 billion last year.
In an attempt to diminish that trade surplus, Hanoi has recently implemented several measures, including reducing tariffs on a multitude of goods destined for the US and intensifying its efforts to curb the shipment of Chinese goods to the US via its territory.
Vietnam steps up talks with US to reduce hefty tariff
https://arab.news/z7g2v
Vietnam steps up talks with US to reduce hefty tariff
- The US has postponed the implementation of the 46 percent tariff on Vietnam until July.
- Vietnam has the fourth-largest trade surplus among all US trading partners
Trump renews push to annex Greenland
- President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark’s prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory
COPENHAGEN: President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark’s prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory.
Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the Arctic.
While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question.
“We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months... let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Over the weekend, the Danish prime minister called on Washington to stop “threatening its historical ally.”
“I have to say this very clearly to the United States: it is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement.
She also noted that Denmark, “and thus Greenland,” was a NATO member protected by the agreement’s security guarantees.
’Disrespectful’
Trump rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York.
Trump has said the United States will now “run” Venezuela indefinitely and tap its huge oil reserves.
Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide.
“They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know,” Trump was quoted as saying.
He added: “But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
Hours later, former aide Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it “SOON.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called Miller’s post “disrespectful.”
“Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law — not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights,” he wrote on X.
But he also said “there is neither reason for panic nor for concern. Our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.”
Allies?
Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump’s policies, guiding the president on his hard-line immigration policies and domestic agenda.
Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, offered a pointed “friendly reminder” in response to Katie Miller’s post that his country has “significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts” and worked together with Washington on that.
“We are close allies and should continue to work together as such,” Soerensen wrote.
Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term.
She later worked as communications director for then-vice president Mike Pence and also acted as his press secretary.
