Does Trump really have a trade deal with Vietnam? US treasury secretary says ‘not sure if it’s signed’

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he does not know whether the US-Vietnam trade deal has been signed or not.

In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said that he was not aware if Vietnam’s government has confirmed the signing of the deal.

On July 2, President Donald Trump said that the United States had reached a trade deal with Vietnam that would lead to lower tariffs on Vietnam in exchange for greater market access to US goods in the country. The finer details were not published.

Previously, Trump had imposed 46 per cent tariff on Vietnam.

In the CNBC interview, the interviewer said, “The Vietnam deal that the president announced earlier in July – I don’t think we’ve seen confirmation from the Vietnamese government of that deal. Do we have agreement with them on paper?”

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Scott first replied that “I assume so” and when the interviewer asked if he had seen the documentation, he replied that “Ambassador Greer keeps all that”. Jamieson Greer is the US Trade Representative.

Has Vietnam really signed a trade deal with US?

Technically, Vietnam has not signed a trade deal with the United States.

What Trump hailed as a “great deal” on July 2 was actually framework agreement to negotiate a proper trade agreement between the United States and Vietnam.

Vietnam’s government issued a statement after a phone call between Trump and Vietnamese leader To Lam that said that the two countries had reached a “framework for a fair and balanced reciprocal trade agreement" that would give the United States “preferential market access" in Vietnam.

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The statement further said that Trump had “affirmed that the United States would significantly reduce reciprocal tariffs on many Vietnamese exports and would continue working with Vietnam to resolve obstacles affecting bilateral trade relations, especially in priority areas for both sides”.

Separately, Vietnamese Finance Minister Nguyen Van Thang said the agreement was “an important negotiation result, creating hope and expectations for businesses”.

So, yes, Vietnam has acknowledged the deal with the United States, but has not dubbed it a ’trade deal’ because it is not one. What the two countries have signed is a framework agreement to reach a trade deal.