Vietnam eyes tariff deal soon, as US seeks to cut huge trade deficit

By Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam is working to sign a trade agreement with the United States soon, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son said on Wednesday, as a new round of negotiations gets underway in Washington. In October, the two countries agreed to finalise a trade deal within weeks that would maintain U.S. tariffs of 20% on its imports of Vietnamese goods, but exempt some unspecified products from the new duty imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in August. Son urged U.S. businesses at a conference in Hanoi to help in bilateral negotiations so that the two parties could "soon sign a fair and balanced trade agreement." Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Michael DeSombre, told the conference in a recorded statement that the t