TGA Victory on Vietnam Tariffs…for Now
On January 15, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it is “not taking any specific actions in connection with the findings at this time” with respect to its Section 301 Tariff Investigation against Vietnam on currency, even though USTR found that Vietnam is manipulating its currency. TGA strongly opposed the imposition of tariffs in the USTR timber and currency investigations, testifying at USTR public hearings held on December 28 and December 29. There were concerns that outgoing President Trump would impose punitive tariffs on U.S. imports from Vietnam (as high as 25%) before he left office on Jan. 20, 2021. Note that USTR has not announced any decision in the Section 301 timber investigation. Vietnam is the #2 supplier of travel goods to the U.S. market. In the first eleven months of 2020, U.S. travel goods imports from Vietnam increased 12.3%, with Vietnam supplying 19.3% of all U.S. travel goods imports during that period.