Vietnam said on Saturday that all duties on US imports could be removed as it joined the Asian clothing and footwear manufacturing hubs seeking to avoid the heavy duty announced last week on its growing list of Asian clothing and footwear manufacturing hubs, including Indonesia, India and Cambodia.
Trump’s April 2nd tariff announcement shocked the fashion industry as many of the best taxes hit major fashion sourcing destinations such as Vietnam, second only to China in exporting clothing and footwear to the US and is a leading supplier of sports brands such as Nike. Many Asian countries have said they are seeking negotiations without retaliation to avoid tariffs scheduled to come into effect on April 9th.
In a letter from Bloomberg saw to Vietnam’s Communist Party Secretary Lam, showing that he was ready to withdraw all US import obligations, calling for Trump to delay a 46% tariff on Vietnam’s imports for 45 days.
Media reports say Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Taiwan and Malaysia also say they have not taken retaliatory actions and have shown an appetite for negotiations. Malaysia challenges the US calculation of barriers to US imports and calls on Southeast Asian countries to coordinate their regional responses.
China – China, the largest source of fashion and footwear for sale in the US, has returned badly with tariffs on Friday.
It is still not clear how flexible Trump will show tariffs. On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in an interview with CBS that tariffs would not be postponed and would remain for “days and weeks.” But Trump has delayed or reversed the tariff course in the past when his trading partners offered concessions.
learn more:
Trump’s Customs Rock Fashion Supply Chain
Some of the most severe import duties announced Wednesday covered apparel manufacturing hubs.
