In Trump's tariff deals with Southeast Asia, will there be any winners?
To date, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are the only countries in the region to have secured so-called deals. Other countries are left with the previously announced April tariffs intact, although the negotiating deadline has been extended for three weeks to August 1. As things stand, there remain few winners in Southeast Asia in the ongoing saga.
Details on the agreement with
Vietnam are sparse, but it seems Hanoi has managed to get its initial 'reciprocal' tariff rate of 46 per cent
reduced to 20 per cent. A 40 per cent tariff will be applied on transshipped products – without an exact definition of exactly what constitutes 'transshipment'.
Trump posted on social media that Vietnam had granted the US 'TOTAL ACCESS' to its market, which seems to amount to a duty waiver on US products entering Vietnam.
An artisan works on a pair of leather boots in Indonesia. Indonesian goods entering the US will face a 19 per cent tariff. Photo: AFP
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