BY FRANCESCO GUARASCIO AND KHANH VU
HANOI- Vietnam escalated a charm offensive with the United States on Friday as it announced provisional deals for the import of US energy products and a possible cut in duties on US goods, as it tries to avoid tariffs from the Trump administration.
The moves, reported by the Vietnamese government, are part of a series of measures the Southeast Asian industrial hub has signaled in past weeks to reduce its trade surplus with Washington, which exceeded $123 billion last year.
On Friday state-controlled energy firm PetroVietnam Power said it had signed a preliminary deal with GE Vernova for the procurement of GE equipment and services for gas-fired power plants.
Vietnam’s trade ministry also announced additional provisional deals by Vietnamese and US firms for the import of energy equipment, ethanol, and liquefied natural gas-related products into Vietnam.
Earlier, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told the US ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper that authorities were “reviewing import tariffs on goods from the United States,” according to a report on the government portal.
The move was meant to “encourage increased imports of key US products that Vietnam needs, especially agricultural products, liquefied gas and high-tech products,” according to the report.
The energy deals were announced as Vietnam’s trade minister Nguyen Hong Dien visited Washington to meet top US officials, confirming an earlier Reuters report.
