The details within the trade agreement are unique. President Donald Trump has announced a trade agreement between the USA and Vietnam. Interestingly Vietnam will face a 20% tariff rate (baseline) and a 40% tariff rate on transnational shipping.
The 40% transnational shipping rate is an interesting approach toward the process of China shipping goods to ASEAN countries to avoid direct tariffs. A transnational shipping tariff is a practical, pragmatic and honest way for the USA and Vietnam to face each other economically without masks and pretenses.
PRESIDENT TRUMP – “It is my Great Honor to announce that I have just made a Trade Deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after speaking with To Lam, the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. It will be a Great Deal of Cooperation between our two Countries. The Terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% Tariff on any and all goods sent into our Territory, and a 40% Tariff on any Transshipping. In return, Vietnam will do something that they have never done before, give the United States of America TOTAL ACCESS to their Markets for Trade. In other words, they will “OPEN THEIR MARKET TO THE UNITED STATES,” meaning that, we will be able to sell our product into Vietnam at ZERO Tariff. It is my opinion that the SUV or, as it is sometimes referred to, Large Engine Vehicle, which does so well in the United States, will be a wonderful addition to the various product lines within Vietnam. Dealing with General Secretary To Lam, which I did personally, was an absolute pleasure. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
CTH was in the manufacturing base of Vietnam in January; their factories are loaded with component parts from China used to produce finished goods sent to the USA (and globally). President Trump previously told Vietnam they need to reduce their reliance on Chinese imported component goods, but China has spent billions in advanced positioning and contracts, influencing Vietnam.
Vietnam is a very poor country, and their population cannot afford to purchase the products they manufacture. They do not have a domestic consumption base. They are reliant on exports to more wealthy nations to keep their manufacturing base afloat. Practically, it is easy to have sympathy for Vietnam due to their economic dependence on both China (for imported raw materials) and the USA (for exported finished goods).
Like Canada, Vietnam has the structural problem of an inability to comply with President Trump demands. However, unlike Canada, a wealthy nation who did this entirely to themselves as they chased leftist “green” dreams, Vietnam’s inability is an outcome of the financial windfall that came from President Trump’s first term targeting of China.
During President Trump’s first term, many companies proactively moved manufacturing operations from China to other nations in Southeast Asia. Vietnam was a big benefactor of the manufacturing shift; their manufacturing base doubled in the next two years. It is smart for them to respond to the Trump tariffs by lowering their import tariff rate to zero and maintaining access to the U.S. market.
As an outcome of the 2018 tariffs against China, which coincided with a President Trump visit to southeast Asia, multiple companies shifted manufacturing operations from China to Vietnam.
Beijing saw the move and slowly increased their own strategic footprint.
In the subsequent years as COVID-19 took attention from all other matters, and with Trump removed from the equation in 2020, China increased the scale of their investment and the outcomes in 2025 are very visible.
The people who live in Vietnam do not have money; they are a very poor nation. The baseline poverty level in combination with their communist regime politics essentially eliminates their consumer power to purchase western goods and makes trade agreements between the U.S and Vietnam somewhat moot. However, as a proxy manufacturing nation Vietnam is a valuable resource for China.
Essentially what can be seen in Vietnam is how Beijing spends money there for influence. The U.S footprint is negligible in comparison to the visible influence of China. The Vietnamese market may be open, but their consumers are very poor. I doubt there will be many SUV’s heading to Vietnam.
It is a very impressive move for Vietnam and the USA to admit the dynamic of the situation; for President Trump to understand Vietnam is partly in their position due to his previous demands on the ASEAN countries; and to come to a transnational shipping tariff system that will create honesty between our two nations.
A super smart approach in a very unique situation.
♦ Semi-related. Remember when I shared the story of the factories in Vietnam and Philippines loaded with Lululemon products without labels that were transshipped from China to apparel manufacturers in southeast Asia?
EXCERPT: …In a little reported reality, in order to offset the problem, many Chinese manufacturers have actually continued the production of several branded product lines (very well-known and established brands) despite the absence of orders for the finished goods from the companies.
Several shipments of those finished goods have started to arrive at China-partnered ports. This is very interesting, because it may lead to market dumping of a higher quality product than most anticipate.
Within the apparel sector, ASEAN consumers cannot afford the fashion branded product at the prices determined by the actual brand owners. However, there is now a strong likelihood -based on what is being reported by the receivers- that the product itself will be marketed -likely dumped- without the brand label. This is actually high-quality apparel distributed for a fraction of the price of the brand.
I’ll be getting more details on this soon, however, it looks like the broad outlines are verified by multiple sources. I’ll use some fake names to explain. China is sending finished “branded” goods to the Philippines, without labeling. The receiving company awaits instructions.
Ex. “Lululemon” products arrive finished, but missing labels – the product is identical, but the IP is now stripped. The product, a summer or fall lineup, is then rebranded “Opal” apparel (fake name example) made in Philippines, packaged in a similar high-end fashion and shipped to USA where a new -mostly online- branded and marketed store sells the items. (Source)
Well, here’s the follow-up hitting the headlines today:
VIA CBS – Lululemon is suing Costco, accusing the discount retailer of selling “confusingly similar” replicas of its jackets, sweatshirts and pants.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the athletic and lifestyle apparel company claims that certain Costco products imitate its own designs so closely that it constitutes “trade dress” infringement, which occurs when a product mimics another so closely that it confuses consumers.
The apparel company claims that Costco’s “knockoff” designs, or product “dupes,” violate trademark law because “some customers incorrectly believe these infringing products are authentic Lululemon apparel.” In other cases, “customers specifically purchase the infringing products because they are difficult to distinguish from authentic Lululemon products,” the lawsuit alleges. (MORE)
Lululemon is a Canadian company who gave China all their manufacturing business. China then makes extra product and ships it to ASEAN countries where it can be generic branded and sold at a discount. In the example above, the Lululemon product returns to the USA market under the CostCo brand. Go figure!
China can’t be very happy.
Going to be quite the sad panda once the terms of all the trade deals with other Southeast Asian nations are announced.
There will be lots of winnamins to share soon.
Kind of makes you wonder what the Panda is plotting this time it’s getting spanked by PDT. If they’ll release a virus on the world like they did in 2019 and get knee deep in election interference like they did in 2020 to stop PDT, you have to wonder what kind of crazy BS the Panda is planning now.
FAFO
Choosing wisely or not, they will own the consequence of it.
Never a doubt why the man made virus was released on the US & the world; to remove Trump. Kinda backfired, no?
Actually, China is the “dragon”, not the “panda”. The panda is the mask on the dragon.
So consider VN disposable income and ask what is the actual market therein for SUVs.
F—k’em
Here’s how the negotiations went: Your choice is 20% and 40% tariffs and tariff us at 0% OR 100% and 120% and you tariff us whatever you want.
“Either your brains or your signature will be on this contract.”
LOL
I wonder if the first problem in Vietnam starts with “Socialist” Republic of Vietnam?
Do they want to shirk those chains? Can they?
No, they can’t. Not anytime soon.
Especially when we keep helping those communist countries stay communist by enriching the people who rule over the citizenry. We really sold Vietnam down the river. Vietnam would be free today if it weren’t for us abandoning them when victory was in our grasp. The USA surely has a lot to answer for.
The DEMOCRATS in the US have a lot to answer for, Bidenlies.
In our grasp? At what (further) cost?! Those were my peeps getting shot at.
So, what’s the problem with The Socialist Republic of New York?
This looks at a glance unfair to Vietnam but is insight into how much Vietnam, themselves, actually export to USA. China has been using Vietnam. This helps take away Chynah Bully tactics towards Vietnam.
But if you look past the glance, it seems that the entities paying the tariffs are in reality the countries using Vietnam as a cheap labor pass-through.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
God how I love this President.
I also love this ending to his Truths! 🙂
Meh, I could do without the wording. But as long as he’s winning I’m winning.
There could be other IP beyond the brand label – such as physical construction techniques – that can land a US retailer in hot water.
(The Costco case does not surprise me. Way more apparel and footwear in its stores over past few years).
This started with all the pro jerseys which were made in China/korea years ago
No labels until at the shipping point. Extras or seconds sold at Pennies on the dollar
Good job Commander in Chief PDJT
YET ANOTHER good job, Commander in Chief PDJT.
Vietnam fought for their communism form of government – the USA lost 50k young men trying to stop communism in Vietnam.
I have a hard time accepting that we buy anything from them.
In my opinion we should not buy anything from Vietnam until they give up their communist form of government .
What is your opinion ?
Deleted.
You’re overlooking the fact that hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people died fighting AGAINST communism. Unfortunately, they didn’t prevail and have little choice but to accept the consequences of defeat.
They didn’t prevail because America cowardly backed out when victory was at hand and brought shame to our country and sold the good people of south Vietnam down the river.
I agree completely.
Their government punished citizens who have no power.
Flashback to what the government did to their own citizens
https://www.history.com/articles/vietnam-war-photos
I remember ever photos as if it were still in real time.
Thank you
They just did.
Give each and every man, woman and child in Vietnam 100 United States Lincoln Pennies…
POTUS doesn’t understand just how much money $1 US is to a kid elsewhere in the world…
It’s not about the dollars…
It’s about the cents…
Common sense…
Abe Lincoln sense.
Global Economic Emancipation…
We should be doing zero trade with dirty communist nations. I’ve never understood why we trade with our own enemies regardless of what the MSM tells me. We should be building up and doing business with like minded nations. Granted there are not many left that don’t kiss the arse of the globalist cabal, but by doing so it would make these nations rich in the process. This would have a ripple effect across the globe harming the commie countries where it hurts the worst, their pocketbooks.
Also we talk about the fifty thousand plus lost in the fight against the spread of communism, yet we turned around and allowed our corporations to export so many American jobs to these communist countries after so much loss to our own people. Makes zero sense unless it’s just about money and screwing the American taxpayer.
It’s about one worldism which we pretty much are already there except for a few bits and pieces.
The Chinese communists are not part of ‘one-worldism’. They are nationalist communists. However suboptimal or misguided they are with their corruption and economic organization, you do not see their ruling class destroying and replacing their own people for fiat currency profits. Their communist government will eventually end, and China will remain.
Meanwhile, European-heritage peoples are getting extinguished and replaced by our ostensible ‘capitalist’ ruling classes. (They are not actually capitalism, imo, but crony cartel corporatist, or globalist) We won’t be around to regret our supposedly superior system if we don’t end the ‘internationalist’ part of internationalist capitalism.
We are losing far more than 50,000 every year in the third opium war which is China pushing fentanyl and other drugs into the US.
Thank you for stating the obvious.
I would suggest that Vietnam is far less an enemy of the United States than the EU!
I say countries have a right o choose.
Are you saying South Vietnam chose what happened to them?
The US stepped in and removed Diem. Replaced him with a series of worthless colonels who were widely viewed as flunkies of the French colonial government. Then wondered why the US wasn’t viewed as a “liberator”.
It’s a good thing we sacrificed all those men to stop that domino from falling, otherwise all of western civilization would have fallen. /s?
I wonder what it would have been like if we had started moving menial sewing jobs to Vietnam in the early sixties instead of later to China?
What would have happened is the military industrial complex wouldn’t have made billions on a war we weren’t allowed to win. 58k American lives would have been saved and a generation of Americans wouldn’t have been scarred by poor leadership that sacrificed their well being for artificially inflated enemy body counts.
And therein resides the crux of the matter.
Power = Control = Money
All else is a pretense to facilitate the engagement of the disposable minions, many willing others forced.
Ffc Vietnam isn’t communist
We rebuilt Japan, Italy and Germany after the war. So far they have been a peaceful country towards the USA.
Put another way, when you lose control, you lose control.
I think the people of Vietnam didn’t have a choice and should not be blamed. What if, under Biden, he sold us out to the highest bidder? We would not have a say – he could have, and did in a lot of ways, sell us out. What is our recourse except to vote him out at the earliest opportunity. It’s more the fault of the CIA, et.al. catering to big business in our country. Don’t forget – President Kennedy wanted to keep us out of a war in Viet Nam and that was probably the major reason he was assassinated.
Vietnam fought for their communism form of government – the USA lost 50k young men trying to stop communism in Vietnam.
I have a hard time accepting that we buy anything from them.
In my opinion we should not buy anything from Vietnam until they give up their communist form of government .
What Is you opinion ?
Tom: Recent and current generations of American business owners and managers don’t seem to care about patriotism and history. Large US corporations, such as Nike, outsource production to Vietnam. Even many smaller, veteran-owned companies outsource production of products to Vietnam. “Hey, our customers want affordable products.” Few people worry about the hidden costs to America of outsourced manufacturing.
Absolutely. Dog eat dog world. Recent American business owners and managers outsourcing productions to China, Vietnam. India, Costa Rica, Portugal, Mexico .. etal over the years. They don’t worry, we worry them.
Naturally they don’t like what PDJT is suceeding in doing. Tariffs work – hit them in the pocket – rule number 1. How many politicians hold the cards to succeed?
It is not Nike’s fault. The government sets the playing field and the rules. The government forced the outsourcing of American Jobs. Deindustrializing was a choice by government. I lived it. You either moved the jobs offshore or you would be forced out of business.
The USA lost 50k young men while supporting the military industrial complex in Vietnam. Stopping communism was the excuse for a war. (That, and the false flag famously known as the “Gulf of Tonkin incident”.)
My flight training class caught the brunt of the Tet Offensive. One third of my class year book was wiped-out.
If you get a chance read the book “In the Mouth of the Cat” about one of my former classmates Lance Sijan. Its an incredible book of “courage”. Everyone of todays youth should be required to read this short book.
Thank you for your service Fangdog! Here’s the Lance Sian story thumbnail from wiki. Rest In Peace Lance!
In the Mouth of the Cat: The Story of Lance Sijan, Hero of Vietnam is a book written by Malcolm McConnell and copyrighted in 1985 by Norton publishers.
The book is based on the story of Lance Sijan who was a United States Air Force captain in the Vietnam War. On November 9, 1967, Sijan ejected from his F-4 Phantom II at high speed and at a low altitude, which caused him to suffer massive injuries to his body. Upon waking the next morning, Sijan found that his left leg had a vertical splintering of the tibia known as a green tree fracture, his right hand was mangled with three of his fingers dislocated, and he had deep cuts and gashes in his forearms, and a severe head wound.
Sijan avoided and escaped capture for nearly six weeks while crawling through jungles eating nothing but various plants and bugs before he was captured. Even after being captured and going through harsh torture, Sijan escaped once again, only to again be captured. Sijan died two weeks later in a prisoner jail in Hanoi. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and a dormitory at his alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy, is named in his honor.
I read the Readers Digest version when it was published. I was a young teenager, and it affected me greatly. Never forgot it, and hunted down a copy a few years ago.
Consider….
The USA had the power and ability stop wipe out communism in both Russia and China, militarily, at the end of WWII, and install democratic, representative govts in both places.
NATO would not have been needed.
No “cold war”.
No “arms race”.
But the US military industrial complex would have been decimated.
So Stalin was allowed to enslave all of Eastern Europe under communism, so the west could have a boogyman to scare taxpayers and keep funding the Spendagon.
Excursions like Vietnam, etc., were the “actions” used to keep the spending going for decades.
(spit)
That is because communists were already running things in DC.
Patton made several comments about it before getting killed by a “drunk driver” who never faced any charges and was later found to have connections to the OSS & later CIA.
Look up Jacob Schiff, he was a banker and major donor to both sides of the isle in DC in the 1910s.
He was also one of the primary financers of the bolshevik revolution and later used his position as a major donor in DC to get them to pass financial and material aid bills in the 1920s to prop up the bolshevik led government despite it being known they were targeting and slaughtering off 20+ million Christians.
Exactly. FDR and Truman loved Stalin. They helped move this country in the direction the radical progressives wanted it moved.
Not so sure the US “had the power and ability to wipe out communism”. Even if the power existed, I don’t think the national will was there. USSR had amassed over 1 million troops in Manchuria by Aug 45.
Oh, Tom. I am sorry that I even answered your first question.
Nice talking points.
Punish citizens when their government punish their citizens who have no power or knowledge of global predatory countries doing business in Vietnam?
Flashback to some of the Vietnam era photos of the government doing that. China capitalized on that the Vietnamese people would be happy to work for pennies just to feed their families.
How about Germany and Japan in WWII? I remember a lot of small hand held transistor radios in the 60’s, most from Japan!
Different times…different priorities…
Vietnam wasn’t about communism….
It was about feeding the machine….
China is the greater enemy, along with the machine….
Both need to be defeated…
Vietnam is no threat to us now…
China is the last place {quality} on Earth to make components for anything and anyone.
From a factory/machinery standpoint quality wise…
Historically…
Japan…
Then Germany…
We’re #1 in quality…
But the Federal Government “procures” {commandeers/steals} the best of Our private sector for itself…
At Our expense {OPM}.
Forget Tariffs…
The Vietnamese People are the biggest winners here…
Economic Emancipation has arrived for The People of Vietnam.
Now THAT…
Is WINNING !!!
Bigly.
In God We Trust
{All others pay cash}
Trust God
Fear not
Tough to forget the time period from Gulf of Tonkin through the last days of the Huey airlifts in 1975… 50,000 brave American soldiers payed the ultimate cost, I know 3 and dozens that survived, all for NOTHING except humiliation… TY CIA
Exactly right.
I was part of that conflict! Eighteen months worth! The hardest part was coming home! We changed flights at Guam and was asked to remain seated until the cargo was unloaded. With a window seat, I saw the cargo, it was a coffin! I was going home to be with family again, that man in the coffin had no one to greet him on his return from duty! That was a “brother”! Very hard to watch as a young man!
They will “win” the exact same way the chinese people did when manufacturing went over there.
They may have a little more money but their communist government will gain more then they do.
“thAn” they do… lol No similarity in meaning of “then” and “than”.
Time to sell stock in the shipping business
I’m sure Canada knew this was going on and now lashing out among their game is up moment
I laugh at the snow Mexicans running their show up there
Serious question – How are people in Vietnam supposed to afford American-made SUVs? Or was Trump making a joke?
Doesn’t communism have “elites” who enjoy the fruits of someone else’s labor?
Perhaps he sees a middle class forming down the road just like communist China has a middle class?
I don’t have a good answer for you but I will say that during a recent visit to Saigon, I noticed a large number of the new Ford Ranger pickups on the roads. I don’t know where they are manufactured but found it interesting that there were so many.
Mostly made in Thailand.
Manufactured in Thailand
Give a man a fishing rod. He is happy with necessities and if he will, make life easier with what would normally be in basic “luxury” list – a car, used and running well, if a car is sorely needed. A new bicycle or tires for the one they have? Who wants blood sweat and tears poured into American-made SUVs, a Porsche and die working for it while the family starve, their aluminum wooden hut leak with no amenities? A working used fridge, a rice cooker, a working outhouse .. or a concrete path leading to it instead of wading in knee deep mud to get to it? the list goes on.Or be able to afford sending their kids to school, take a bus or better shoes to walk there.
What a question.
While I really want Canada to “pay” for its idiotic socialist, woke, green policies and receive a genuine smack-down “re”awakening…….. I don’t want those people becoming a 51st state and wrecking MAGA voting, swinging us back hard left.
Maybe they can just become a territory – permanently withOUT voting rights !
If PDJT wants or NEEDS it as a 52nd state just do it
Trump was right about EVERYTHING
Yes Lawrence ,
It’s uncanny . How is he right about everything ? ? ?
God Blessed the man !
IMHO, he’s right because he isn’t bought and paid to pretend otherwise. Plus he’s smart and has been paying attention his whole life.
if it becomes a state that would hand the left another 40+ congressional seats and 2 additional senate seats.
The western provinces have wanted to break off from the leftists on the east coast for decades.
The western provinces are also where all the resources are.
If the western provinces join us fine, but the leftist crap holes should be left to rot.
Especially w illegal Chyna behavior, and Islamization going on. Really sad how the West is crumbling.
Big name brands of men’s briefs and plain tee shirts that are sold in the USA, have been made in Vietnam for several years.
Are fireworks from China via Vietnam already imported into USA?
I wonder if Sundance has put together his own tariff income spreadsheet based on the countries that make up 80-90% of our imports to get an estimate of what the US tariff revenue might be as compared to say 2008-2016?
And would this new source of revenue be enough to either pay down a nice piece of our debt or possibly eliminate federal income tax on those who make under 250k per year?
I read recently that we collected $85 Billion, but is that for a month, a quarter?
I’ve actually come to believe that, by insisting on the disproven ‘tariffs cause inflation’ nonsense, Jerome Powell is interfering on behalf of the EU bankers (ROTHSCHILDS) in Trump’s trade negotiations with the EU. That’s the whole purpose of holding the interest levels high. We’ll see if he folds after January 8.
Possible.
For what it is worth, I also remember hearing something about a backdoor bailout of EU bankers by the Federal Reserve during all that Covid-19 scamdemic. A bailout to the tune of 10’s if not 100’s of billions, likely more.
BINGO!
How to police what is made in Vietnam, and what’s transshipped?
My guess is that it’s all transshipped or the components made in China and assembled in Vietnam is so high that the difference is irrelevant for tariff’s sake
Vietnam’s top exports, by value, in 2024:
(I see wood, seafood, coffee and rice on other lists.)
I’d guess #s 10, 9 and probably 8 (and all the addendum) are native, but mostly don’t go to the West.
So, yeah:
China’s going to hate that last bit.
A majority of veneered wooden furniture sold in the US is made in Vietnam. The veneer laying is skilled labor which is cheaper there than in China or in the US.
My question too. How to determine country of origin.
Enriching all of our communist “friends”.
Great article! Our President is MAGA BRILLIANT!
👊👊🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻
“a 20% tariff on any and all goods sent into our Territory.”
I wonder if the agreement actually says Territory. That is a different meaning than country.
I caught that too. POTUS Trump is very intentional about everything. The only mistype I can think of is “covfefe” and he quickly owned that one!
Greenland?
With President Trump, there is always more than meets the eye. Hopefully this will help the poor souls. As for them being a communist country, well we’re on the verge of having a communist city right in the midst of the free world. Go figure.
The intrinsic benefits of tariffs, I tell my wife. Is why she’s getting high quality apparel from Amazon too all at a price point she likes.
Howard Lutnick’s statement….
How is it huge for our farmers? Does Vietnam buy soybeans?
Stop hiring illegals so you can build your condo on the beach in Florida.
China Virus
I’m thinking about grabbing a batch of those unlabeled Align No Line™ High-Rise Pant leggings and rebranding them as Conservative Treehouse Covertwear—for Mrs. JoeS.
Buttery soft, zero resistance, and flexible enough to move through transnational shell companies, media spin cycles, and D.C. trade delegations without leaving a trace.
Soft enough for yoga, but tough enough for geopolitics.
That’s funny!! 🙂
If you like your Lulu Lemon, you can keep your Lulu Lemon.
https://www.businessinsider.com/yoga-pants-may-contain-toxic-chemicals-linked-to-cancer-lab-2022-1
As SD said ..”Vietnam is a very poor country, and their population cannot afford to purchase the products they manufacture. They do not have a domestic consumption base. They are reliant on exports to more wealthy nations to keep their manufacturing base afloat. ”
Vietnam’s exports to the United States include rubber which is used to manufacture tires. There was never a possibility that Vietnam could purchase an equal amount of “products” that they export to the U.S. Vietnam was never “ripping off” the United States. We wouldn’t manufacture many cars without tires!
Synthetic rubber has been a thing for many years having been invented in the 1930’s using petroleum-based processes.
Natural rubber has its uses, but synthetic is typically cheaper for a similar quality product and properties.
We still need a lot of natural rubber from SE Asia to manufacture tires when you consider the volume of cars in the United States…
“How much natural rubber is in tires?
Natural rubber, which is made from latex sap that’s taken from several different types of rubber comprises about 28 percent of a conventional car tire by weight. For trucks, it’s between 19 and 34 percent. Collecting the sap for rubber is monotonous, difficult work; trees need to be sapped every day for about two decades.”
Maybe there’s an opportunity eventually for automating the sap collecting? I could imagine a day where Vietnamese buy or lease American built robots for doing that difficult and monotonous work.
An increase in productivity and economic growth in Vietnam could be good thing for the locals, so long as they can minimize corruption, and possess rule of law.
good thing for the locals, so long as they can minimize corruption”…. same as here.
Aye, there’s nothing new under the sun.
I bet the Lululemon lawsuit goes no where when it turns out that Costco did not steal or copy anything but bought from the same Chinese Dragon wearing a different mask.
Also Canada cannot sue China and win. That’s like the side chick finding out dude has more than one side chick.
So true!!!
I know one American cohort, particularly, who will be happier that this new trade deal is in place: the American SHRIMPERS in our Gulf of America. [And no: not out of disrespect, but this does not include Forest Gump.]
For years now … at our local markets, we have seen next to ZERO home-grown-harvested shrimp. It was and is almost 100% from SE Asia; particularly Vietnam.
We do like the shrimp and would like to see, after years, a healthy comparison and competition between the foreign and the domestic product qualities; that is, a market WITHOUT the unfair foreign GOVT-made advantages.
Thank you, POTUS Trump … working every day for We The People — 24/7 — to MAGA & MAHA!
Imagine a world with broke China unable to buy influence in US politics or to puppeteer Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican gov’t.
This is what happens when you give a billionaire 4 years to build up his battle plans, get his own people hired, and then execute that battle plan.
Term 1 had to do all this stuff with far more traitors and usurpers undermining Trump from within. That greatly limited what Trump was able to do, yet he still got amazing results.
Term 2 is like a cannon blast by comparison.
And winning court cases not for himself but for Americans and the dragonian laws put in place they have suffered displacements, jails, discrimination, overridden by liberal corporations, judiciary entities, DS perps, and unelected officials running the country. The battle isn’t over yet, though these first months have seen marvellous achievements to undo the ruin and chaos caused. Be of good cheer. People are through and by their individual positions, stature, means, background, influence and capability to undo what the auto-penners cannot reverse. Given the trade deals are for America First; attached, if not primarily deals with other countries include their citizens with opportunities to achieve independence and afford reasonably better lives.
DJT stands for Don’t Just Tweet. less speak, speak softly, more big stick. DJT tweets and teases less, tariffs and trounces more. DJT’s personal and national foes know it.
2025 is truly The Year of Hope.
“Vietnam is a very poor country, and their population cannot afford to purchase the products they manufacture. They do not have a domestic consumption base. They are reliant on exports to more wealthy nations to keep their manufacturing base afloat. Practically, it is easy to have sympathy for Vietnam due to their economic dependence on both China (for imported raw materials) and the USA (for exported finished goods).”
Typical communist country. The workers work for a bowl of rice, live in the dirt, with no control over their lives and no pathway to improvement, while their supreme leader president lives in a palace. Essentially, a communist colony of China.
Some economists’, analysts’ and pundits’ concerns that the impact of Trump’s trade policies and tariffs (particularly on steel imports), could benefit some blue-collar workers in industries like steel manufacturing but potentially harm (others, particularly in sectors reliant on imported materials, such as automotive and construction. They challenge the narrative of a broad-based “blue-collar boom.”
Data from the DOT show the real hourly earnings for production and non-supervisory worker with a growth of 1.7% during the period of Jan 20 to June 12, 2025, during PDJT’s second term (with indications of labor force growth and wage increases for some blue-collar workers) …. and, by 1.3% during the same period in his first term in 2017.
Watch Democrats soon go after blue collar workers.
You would think that retail licensers like Lululemon or GUESS or POLO would have in their agreements forbidden overruns of their products that do not carry their labels. Maybe they do and they can’t escape the financial handcuffs they are in.
Maybe Vietnam’s “victory” in the “Vietnam Conflict” has a cost they are now realizing. Poor and unable to buy much. Not a good out come of victory.
I don’t think LuLu Lemon has a winnable case here; they just want to save face and will spend a lot of money to do so. The Chinese manufacturers for Costco will deny, and LuLu won’t have anything to prove otherwise. Oh, they look similar, that’s weird because I can walk into many stores and find many clothes from many different manufacturers/designers that look pretty much the same.
Canada keeps stepping in it.
I’m glad Viet Nam is resolved but I will be hugely relieved when the Japan deal comes through.
I just read ( don’t remember where) that Japan auto companies have secretly been paying the 20% tariff in autos. In the Billions.
Just an observation, but in the comments here someone mentioned another bio attack on America from the Chinese.
At the celluar level America is a nation of immigrants. In China everyone is Chinese.
Targeting is much easier for us.
Pentagon Making Race-Specific Bioweapons to Target Citizens, China Says
https://www.newsweek.com/pentagon-china-race-bioweapons-target-citizens-1799769
Yeah, we can be mean too.
one can argue that the transshipment clause is more important because in recent weeks China had threatened that any country that makes a deal with the US at its expense would make it very angry. Which means that Xi is now terribly vexed.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/trump-announces-trade-deal-vietnam-includes-20-tariffs-40-tax-transshipping
I’m picking up little blips and comments here and there that younger party members in China view Xi and his communist idology as 20th Century dinosaurs and hindrances to China entering the 21st Century as a modern country and economy. Stop trying to take over the world as a communist globalist and get with the modern trade program.
If Vietnam cannot afford the products they manufacture what difference will it make if they open their country to our products?
Think about “salvage goods” and reselling the imperfect products at a super low price.
Vietnam becomes the Salvation Army store for U.S. used goods.
With my birthday being two days after Christmas, sometimes my parents would get creative and give me an “okay” gift on the 25th, but have another gift (that went with it) for me to open two days later, which quadrupled the “joy value” of that Christmas gift!
Something about this agreement with Vietnam makes me think there’s a “birthday gift” yet to come that’s gonna make this agreement REALLY special by January!
This is the latest iteration of the “ night shift”- a factory in China makes the customer’s product all day, then uses their facility and materials all night to make a competing- yet- identical product.
Anyone still manufacturing in China would be wise to show up at the factory at midnight and see what’s happening. But they would all know this by now.
What is going to happen is some Chinese manufacturing will move to Vietnam establishing a very small middle class. The 20% spread between Vietnamese production and transhipment has “gravity” and it will pull some factories to Hanoi. Not sure what will make sense to manufacture there, but what makes sense to move will move there. Value self levels. This means more value in manufacturing in Vietnam… 20% more. Dilutes China a little and benifits the Vietnamese and the US both. China loses jobs.
When China outsources its labor you know it has to be cheap.