Vietnam is one of the worst-hit countries with a proposed 46% tariff, second-highest in Asean. The US announced a high 46% tariff on Vietnam, second-highest in Asean after Cambodia (49%). According to the US, Vietnam currently imposes 90% tariffs (including currency manipulation and trade barriers) on US imports. And, according to Reuters, the US deficit with Vietnam surged 18% y-o-y to US$123.5 billion in 2024.
The current US administration, whether mistakenly or not, views April 2 as its so-called "liberation day". To the rest of the world it marks the beginning of the tariff warws and has echoes of the 1930s, with the Smoot-Hawley Act under Herbert Hoover and we know how that turned out.
Three large Asian economies, Vietnam, India and China are in the US administration's cross-hairs, although India appeared to have got off with only a graze.
