Letter to Trump: Vietnam’s Strategic Alignment with China and BRICS –The Need for Strong and Targeted Tariffs
July 11, 2025
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President of the United States
Re: Vietnam’s Strategic Alignment with China and BRICS – The Need for Strong and Targeted Tariffs
Dear President Trump,
On behalf of the Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy, we write to commend your Administration’s efforts to hold authoritarian trade violators accountable—especially through the imposition of strong tariffs that protect American industries and defend the integrity of our supply chains.
We are particularly grateful for your leadership in enacting the recent tariff measures on Vietnamese steel and transshipped goods, which exposed a long-standing loophole exploited by Chinese firms to bypass U.S. trade laws. However, recent developments indicate that these tariffs must not only continue—they must intensify.
Barely 5 days after reaching a tentative trade agreement with the United States, the Vietnamese Communist Party turned around and signed a sweeping economic and political cooperation pact with Beijing. This new agreement, announced on July 7, cements Hanoi’s alignment with Communist China across all sectors—trade, technology, security, and ideological governance. Vietnam has further reaffirmed its orientation toward the BRICS bloc, deepening its position within an anti-Western coalition designed to undermine U.S.-led economic leadership.
Even more troubling, Vietnam is now actively seeking to revise or escape the tariff agreement it just signed with your team. According to Politico (July 10), Vietnamese officials are lobbying to reverse the 40% tariff on Chinese goods re-exported through Vietnam—despite clear evidence that this transshipment scheme is part of a coordinated effort between Hanoi and Beijing.
President Trump, Vietnam cannot have it both ways. A regime that allies with China, joins BRICS, and facilitates trade deception cannot simultaneously enjoy the privileges of free and fair trade with the United States. Tariffs on Vietnam must be rooted not only in economic policy, but in geopolitical reality.
As you have always said: “America First.” We urge your continued vigilance in ensuring that no nation—especially one complicit in China’s anti-American agenda—is allowed to profit at the expense of American workers, values, and sovereignty.
Respectfully,
Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy
Washington, D.C.
