HANOI, June 4 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the U.S. Trade Representative’s conclusion that it had failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labour does not fully or accurately reflect Vietnam’s mitigation efforts.
Vietnam’s policy strictly prohibits any form of forced labour, and it complies with the regulations of the International Labour Organization, foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told a regular press conference in Hanoi.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on imports from 60 countries, including Vietnam, after determining they had failed to curb trade in goods made with forced labour, an assertion that U.S. ‌trading partners have rejected.
The probe coincided with a surge in Vietnam’s exports to the United States. The U.S. trade deficit with Vietnam reached $54.8 billion in the first three months of this year, second only to Taiwan and higher than the deficits with major exporters China and Mexico, U.S. data showed.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said it wants to reduce trade deficits.
“Vietnam has been and will continue to exchange and work with the United States in a constructive and cooperative manner to resolve existing disagreements, while always trying to protect legitimate interests of workers and businesses,” Hang said.
Vietnam is being targeted by the Trump administration for allegedly distorting trade with excess capacity, intellectual property violations and the use of goods from forced labour.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Writing by Khanh Vu; Editing by John Mair)
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