Vietnam and United States: Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade

03 Nov 2025    2 minute read

In brief

On 26 October 2025, The United States and Vietnam concluded the Framework for an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade. According to the Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the two countries will continue to finalize the detailed commitments in the next few weeks for signing and internal ratification.

Contents

Key takeaways

The final Agreement is expected to be concluded by the end of this year with the following major commitments:

  • A comprehensive agreement covering digital trade, services and investment, intellectual property, labor, environment, customs and trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, and any distortionary behaviors of state-owned enterprises.
  • Commodities originating from Vietnam are subject to reciprocal tariff of 20%.
  • Reciprocal tariff of 0% applies to certain commodities under Annex III of Executive Order 14346 dated 05 September 2025, as identified by both Parties.
  • Technical barriers applied by Vietnamese authorities will be addressed/aligned e.g., US motor vehicle safety and emissions standards; import licenses for US medical devices; regulatory requirements and approvals for US pharmaceutical products; Vietnam's obligations under certain international intellectual property treaties; product quality conformity assessment procedures.

In more detail

  1. The reciprocal tariff and in-scope commodities originating from Vietnam

The Reciprocal tariff for Vietnam originating goods going into US is 20%. There is possibility that the reciprocal tariff will be reduced to 0% for a number of commodities under Annex III of Executive Order 14346 dated 05 September 2025.

However, the actual benefits of the tariff being reduced to zero may be limited as the commodity list is subject to a number of limitations which may exclude most of Vietnam's major exported commodities.

  1. Tariff reduction for US commodities

Vietnam will provide preferential market access for substantially all US industrial and agricultural exports to Vietnam.

This may mirror preferential tariff treatment that is currently applied to other key trading partners of Vietnam (e.g., the EU).

  1. Removal of technical barriers

Market access for the US commodities is expected to be improved when Vietnam reconsiders the current license, import permit and quality control on agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, etc.

For further questions regarding this alert, please contact the listed authors.

* * * * *

Ngoc Trung Tran, Senior Regulatory Advisor, has contributed to this legal update.

Contact Information
Manh Hung Tran
Partner at BakerMcKenzie
Hanoi
Read my Bio
tmh@bmvn.com.vn
Thanh Vinh Nguyen
Partner at BakerMcKenzie
Ho Chi Minh City
Read my Bio
thanhvinh.nguyen@bmvn.com.vn

Copyright © 2025 Baker & McKenzie. All rights reserved. Ownership: This documentation and content (Content) is a proprietary resource owned exclusively by Baker McKenzie (meaning Baker & McKenzie International and its member firms). The Content is protected under international copyright conventions. Use of this Content does not of itself create a contractual relationship, nor any attorney/client relationship, between Baker McKenzie and any person. Non-reliance and exclusion: All Content is for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal and regulatory developments. All summaries of the laws, regulations and practice are subject to change. The Content is not offered as legal or professional advice for any specific matter. It is not intended to be a substitute for reference to (and compliance with) the detailed provisions of applicable laws, rules, regulations or forms. Legal advice should always be sought before taking any action or refraining from taking any action based on any Content. Baker McKenzie and the editors and the contributing authors do not guarantee the accuracy of the Content and expressly disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or permitted to be done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the Content. The Content may contain links to external websites and external websites may link to the Content. Baker McKenzie is not responsible for the content or operation of any such external sites and disclaims all liability, howsoever occurring, in respect of the content or operation of any such external websites. Attorney Advertising: This Content may qualify as “Attorney Advertising” requiring notice in some jurisdictions. To the extent that this Content may qualify as Attorney Advertising, PRIOR RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE A SIMILAR OUTCOME. Reproduction: Reproduction of reasonable portions of the Content is permitted provided that (i) such reproductions are made available free of charge and for non-commercial purposes, (ii) such reproductions are properly attributed to Baker McKenzie, (iii) the portion of the Content being reproduced is not altered or made available in a manner that modifies the Content or presents the Content being reproduced in a false light and (iv) notice is made to the disclaimers included on the Content. The permission to re-copy does not allow for incorporation of any substantial portion of the Content in any work or publication, whether in hard copy, electronic or any other form or for commercial purposes.