HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and the United States, which are in the process of negotiating a bilateral trade agreement, have managed to narrow differences in all areas of discussions.

Spokesperson for the foreign ministry Phạm Thu Hằng made this statement on Thursday at the regular press briefing in response to questions over progress in talks with the US on reciprocal tariffs between the two countries. The three-month pause on the tariffs announced in early April by US President Donald Trump is set to expire on July 9.

Việt Nam and the US have just concluded the third round of negotiations in Washington. The Vietnamese delegation is led by Minister of Industry and Trade Trần Hồng Diên, who has held working sessions with both US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer last week.

"During these four days of meetings, the negotiating teams from both sides have been working tirelessly and recorded positive progress, narrowing differences across all areas of discussion," Hằng noted.

The US negotiating team has expressed appreciation for the goodwill and efforts that Việt Nam has put into the ongoing negotiation, and said they've also taken into consideration the proposals from and interests of Việt Nam as an important foundation for further discussions between the two sides towards a common agreement.

On Việt Nam's part, the Vietnamese negotiating team has confirmed the resolve to further strengthen the economic ties with the US in a more balanced and sustainable manner, taking into account the interests of businesses and people from both sides.

Both negotiating teams have agreed to continue instructing the technical-level working groups between the two countries to advance and step up these negotiations towards a common agreement, in line with the conditions and wishes of both sides, according the spokesperson.

Asked about rumours that there would be a visit by a high-level Vietnamese leader, specifically Party General Secretary Tô Lâm, to the US at the end of June, the spokesperson said they had not heard such information.

Party chief Tô Lâm was the first foreign leader to hold a direct phone call with President Trump, which took place two days after the tariffs announcement. Lâm had offered to slash tariffs on American goods into Việt Nam to 0 per cent, and urged the US to do the same for Vietnamese goods into the US.

The trade deficit of the US with Việt Nam reached $123.5 billion in 2024, an 18.1 per cent increase over 2023, according to data from the Office of the US Trade Representative.

Việt Nam was hit with a 46 per cent tariff on all goods exported to the US, on top of a baseline of 10 per cent levied against all countries. — VNS