Vietnam is not allowing U.S. President Donald Trump's latest accusations about the country being an "abuser" of the United States to come in the way of its dreams as the Asian nation bagged a massive deal with the European Union over the weekend.
According to CNBC, Hanoi is preparing the country to become one of the greatest beneficiaries of the China-U.S. trade war amid tariffs that companies are trying to curb and get away from. All this despite earlier comments from the U.S. President.
Vietnam's deal with the EU removes 99 percent of tariffs from the country in terms of imported products from the developing country to the huge and opportunity-laden western bloc.
Trump suggested last week that Vietnam could be Washington's next target in terms of tariffs and labeled the country as the "worst abuser" of the United States. However, it appears that the Asian nation is more focused on building ties with other countries amid growing scrutiny from the U.S.
The free trade agreement between Vietnam and the European Union was described by the latter as "the most ambitious free trade deal ever concluded with a developing country." Indeed, it came very timely for Hanoi after a potential fallout with the U.S.
While Vietnam is kind off far from the line in terms of trade with the bloc, analysts are expecting growth in exchange of products, especially with the FTA. The country is the EU's 16th largest trading partner.
Amid negative comments from the White House, Hanoi's new deal with the EU is seen as part of the Vietnamese government's efforts in reforming its policies so other countries will find it a suitable partner for various agreements and business dealings.
"Vietnam is taking extraordinary steps to accelerate economic growth by making difficult domestic reforms and actively seeking new markets," deputy director and fellow at the Southeast Asia Program of Center for Strategic International Studies," Brian Harding, noted.
Earlier reports suggested that Vietnam is the biggest beneficiary in the China-U.S. trade war yet, which, according to some economists, could be the reason why Trump fired out threats to the country that's slowly taking the attention of other potential investors.
While Vietnam already has a huge opportunity to improve its GDP through the EU FTA, Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung said on Thursday that his country will seriously address the "violations" and "breaches that the White House laid out.
Analysts noted that the finance minister's comments may indicate that Hanoi is still willing to repair its trade disputes with the U.S. even if it already has big wins in its enhanced relationship with the EU.
