Vietnam initially believed it had reached a preliminary agreement with the United States that would significantly reduce tariff levels. However, at the last moment, Trump raised the rates. As a result, the Vietnamese government has not formally accepted the key parts of the agreement that Trump claimed last week on social media, although Trump asserted that these terms had been agreed upon by Vietnamese leaders. According to Trump's post on July 2, the U.S. would impose a 20% tariff on goods exported from Vietnam, with rates as high as 40% if 'transshipment' is involved. In exchange, Vietnam would open its market to the U.S. This caused an uproar in Vietnam, as their negotiating representatives had not actually agreed to the 20% tariff rate. Four informed sources revealed that they believe the tariff rate will be around 11%. Trump ignored this figure during a phone call with Vietnamese leaders and instead announced that the U.S. would impose tariffs nearly double the original expectations. This even shocked lobbyists for bilateral cooperation on the U.S. side. 'Trump caught everyone off guard,' one lobbyist said. So far, neither the White House nor Vietnam has released any documents indicating that the final agreement includes these tariff rates, and neither country has formally signed an agreement. (Politico)