HANOI (Reuters) -Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and China’s Premier Li Qiang have agreed to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil, Vietnam’s government said on Tuesday.
The move came days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new trade deal with Vietnam that would slap a 20% tariff on all Vietnamese exports to the United States but also put a 40% levy on transshipments through Vietnam from third countries.
Details on the 40% tariffs on transhipments are yet to be made public, but analysts said the measure was primarily aimed at components and materials originating from China, Vietnam’s key source of inputs for its manufacturing industries.
The tariff rates were lower than an initial 46% rate threatened by Trump in April, and Vietnam also agreed to import U.S. products with a zero percent tariff.
During the BRICS meeting with Li, Chinh also called on China to prioritise cooperation on railway construction, adding that Vietnam would start building a new rail link connecting the two countries in December.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by David Stanway)
