Vietnam estimates its exports to the US could decline by as much as a third if higher tariffs announced by President Donald Trump take effect, an internal government assessment shows.

The recent tariff agreement has calmed bilateral tensions between Hanoi and Washington, but new trade tensions could be in store.

Vietnam is preparing stricter penalties to crack down on trade fraud and the illegal transshipment of goods, and has focused its inspections on Chinese products as it tries to comply with commitments made to Washington,

Vietnam’s negotiators are still working on the terms of the tariff deal with their US counterparts, more than two weeks after it was first announced by US President Donald Trump.

The announcement came after President Trump in April proposed a steep 46% tariff on Vietnamese imports; he later paused those tariffs while talks continued.

The United States will place a lower-than-promised tariff on many Vietnamese exports, Donald Trump said, cooling tensions with its tenth-biggest trading partner days before the U.S. president could raise levies on most imports.

Vietnam thought it had a preliminary deal with the U.S. to lower its tariff level substantially. Then, at the last minute, President Donald Trump raised the rate. As a result, the Vietnamese ...

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