Vietnam steps up talks with US to reduce hefty tariff

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HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnam and the United States held their first direct ministerial-level negotiations on Friday against the backdrop of an impending U.S. tariff of 46% 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, symbolised 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 U.S. 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 U.S. has postponed the implementation of the 46% 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 U.S. 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 U.S. and intensifying its efforts to curb the shipment of Chinese goods to the U.S. via its territory.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Sonali Paul)