US President Donald Trump met with Vietnamese leader To Lam at the White House, emphasizing his intention to remove Vietnam from a list of countries restricted in accessing advanced U.S. technology. This marks the first formal face-to-face meeting between the leaders since Lam attended the inaugural Board of Peace session in Washington.
Despite US warplanes and aircraft carriers nearing Iran under Trump’s orders, he welcomed two dozen global allies to the former Institute for Peace building, now renamed after the 79-year-old Republican president. Trump highlighted that despite his curtailed foreign aid contributions, the United States would invest $10 billion into a joint initiative aimed at rebuilding Gaza, which had been destroyed by conflict between Hamas and Israel.
News of over $30 billion in deals for Vietnamese airlines purchasing Boeing aircraft followed this high-profile meeting. Trump also announced new 10% tariffs on most imports from all countries following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down some of his earlier sweeping tariff measures.
Trump signed executive orders imposing these tariffs, partly replacing those under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and ending collection of banned duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which he had declared illegal by the court.
The new tariffs began on Tuesday, with exemptions already in place for aerospace products, passenger cars and light trucks, goods compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and agricultural products.