US Forced Labor Ruling Does Not Reflect Vietnam’s Efforts, Govt Says

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry yesterday pushed back on the U.S. government’s claim that it had failed to combat the trade in goods made with forced labor, saying that Washington’s determination did not reflect the government’s efforts.

Vietnam is among 60 nations that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) threatened this week with tariffs of 10-12.5 percent due to their alleged failures to take action on forced labor.

Speaking at a regular press briefing in Hanoi, Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang stated that “the conclusions of the investigation into forced labor practices by the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office do not accurately reflect the reality and Vietnam’s efforts in preventing, mitigating, and reducing forced labor,” Vietnamese state media reported.

Hang added that Vietnam had a consistent policy of strictly prohibiting all forms of forced labor, and adhered to both the standards of the International Labour Organization and the labor regulations contained in its various free trade agreements.

“This policy is specifically outlined in legal documents, programs, and action plans of the Government, and its implementation is guaranteed in practice,” she said.

In March, the USTR announced that it had initiated unfair ​trade practices probes into 60 nations’ alleged failures to take action on forced labor, under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

On Tuesday, the USTR announced that all 60 had been found guilty of either failing to introduce anti-forced labor regulations, or failing to implement them adequately. Vietnam was among the 44 economies that the USTR threatened with a 12.5 percent tariff for unfair trading practices. The remaining 16 nations were threatened with a 10 percent tariff.

The move was widely seen as a way of rescuing President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down the sweeping global tariffs that his administration imposed on allies and adversaries alike last year.

While Vietnam is not the only Southeast Asian nation that has been targeted by this investigation – Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines were also among the 60 nations on the USTR’s list – it has come under particularly close scrutiny by the Trump administration, despite being an important partner in Washington’s goal of containing Chinese power and influence. The main reason for this is the country’s yawning trade surplus with the United States, which saw it hit with one of the highest tariff rates of any nation during President Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcement in April 2025.

In recent months, Vietnam has also been hit with separate Section 301 probes into alleged excess manufacturing capacity and intellectual property rights. The latter of these was announced last week, with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stating that “we need to see Vietnam resolve these long-standing concerns, including on a range of IP enforcement issues, in a manner that is sustained and that deters future IP infringements.” Vietnam’s government has reassured Trump trade officials that it is committed to combating intellectual property violations.

All of these trade probes are likely to introduce new areas of tension into trade talks between Washington and Hanoi. The two sides signed a framework for a trade agreement in October, but despite months of negotiations, they have yet to reach a final agreement. Among the areas of dispute have been the question of transshipment – the routing of Chinese goods through Vietnam to avoid U.S. tariffs – and market access for American companies.

The situation has also been complicated by the fact that despite the imposition of new tariffs on its imports, Vietnam’s trade surplus with the U.S. continues to grow. According to the USTR, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Vietnam rose to $178.2 billion in 2025, a 44.3 percent increase over 2024. During the first three months of 2026, it totaled $54.8 ‌billion, according to U.S. statistics cited by Reuters. This was second only to Taiwan and higher than the deficits with major exporters China and Mexico.