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Headlines:
Court Kills Tariffs, White House Has a Spare
To Lam Woos Washington While Briefing Moscow
Brussels Puts Hanoi in the Tax Naughty Corner
Commanding Heights, Party Style
The Export Engine Runs on Foreign Fuel
Hanoi Cracks Open the Boarding Gate
Retail Army Hits Twelve Million
Seoul Elbows Out Tokyo for $2.3 Billion Gas Prize
Hanoi Races North
From SUVs to Stair Climbers
Thu Thiem's Ninth Life
Vietnam's E10 Switch Hits June 1
Court Kills Tariffs, White House Has a Spare
The US Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that Trump's reciprocal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful, causing the White House to immediately substitute a flat 15% surcharge under Section 122 with a 150-day cap. The change is more relevant as a matter of timing than rate: export-heavy economies now have a compressed window for supply chain adjustments and pricing negotiations rather than open-ended tariff exposure. For the third-largest Asian exporter to the US, the flat rate is an improvement. The old IEEPA framework hit apparel, footwear, and consumer goods hardest, exactly the categories that dominate Vietnamese shipments to American buyers, and a flat 15% is better than the previously higher targeted rates those sectors were faced with. The catch is that the clock is running as companies have five months to figure out whether Washington will extend, replace, or abandon the mechanism entirely.
Read more: Vietnam-Briefing (timeline), FX Street (ASEAN comparative advantage), Vietnam Insiders, Asia News Network (credit upgrade implications)
To Lam Woos Washington While Briefing Moscow
Party General Secretary To Lam flew to Washington last week to try and push a reciprocal trade deal with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who said negotiations have reached "a decisive phase" and praised Hanoi's "proactive and positive efforts." To Lam and his deputies also met former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, pitching digital infrastructure, clean energy, critical minerals, and high-tech investment cooperation. But just as he was shaking hands in DC, he sent Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung to Moscow as his "special envoy" to brief Putin on the outcomes of the 14th Party Congress. The Kremlin said it was the first time Hanoi sent a special envoy specifically to inform Russia about a party congress, calling it a sign of "special attention to our traditionally friendly and close relations." Trump got a meeting invite to APEC 2027 in Vietnam. Putin got a personal messenger.
Read more: VnEconomy (trade agreement timing), VnEconomy (tech cooperation priorities), Vn Usembassy Gov (critical minerals focus), En Kremlin Ru (Moscow parallel diplomacy)
Brussels Puts Hanoi in the Tax Naughty Corner
The EU added Vietnam to its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions following an OECD peer review covering the years 2021 to 2023. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang seemed little bothered by the move, and responded by saying that VN had already updated several laws during the review period, including the Law on Tax Administration, the Law on Enterprises, and Decree No. 168/2025. Hanoi is coming up with a plan to cover the OECD Global Forum's recommendations, however, and says it's ready to work with Brussels to show progress. The listing won’t force a any sanctions, but it's awkward timing for a government that’s courting European investment and is keen to promote transparency.
Read more: Fibre2Fashion (OECD peer review), Vietnam Insiders, VnEconomy (National Action Plan)
Commanding Heights, Party Style
More than two million listeners from 27,284 sites heard Party General Secretary To Lam lay out a blueprint Tuesday in which the state keeps control of energy, finance, telecoms, and other “strategic” infrastructure while opening non-core areas to private capital. The resolutions are the first time Hanoi has formally defined state economy to include not just SOEs but all resources the state holds, from land and minerals to budget reserves and state capital in enterprises. Nguyen Thanh Nghi, who leads the Party's Policy and Strategy Commission, presented the framework that makes it more clear where private firms can compete and where they won’t be permitted. The state is expected to step back only in sectors "where its involvement is unnecessary or ineffective," and even then strictly "according to market principles" while taking a hard line against interest groups and profiteering. For private firms with an eye on energy or communications (telecoms), the door is staying firmly shut; for everything else, if not rays of sunshine, at least the terms are now a little clearer.
Read more: VnEconomy (framework), VnEconomy
The Export Engine Runs on Foreign Fuel
Foreign-invested firms have been responsible for nearly four-fifths of exports so far this year, posting $15.8 billion in the first half of February alone. Total foreign trade hit $130.18 billion, up 36.93% year-on-year, a figure partly inflated by Lunar New Year timing differences, with phones and electronics doing some heavy lifting. Phone and accessory exports totaled $5.66 billion in January alone, up 17.3% from last year, and computers and electronics rose 57.6% to $9.56 billion. China bought $1.31 billion in phones, more than doubling shipments from last year, while the US remained the biggest market for computers and electronics at $3.79 billion, up 72.8%. Vietnam has run a trade deficit of about $948 million through mid-February.
Read more: VnEconomy (trade deficit data), VnEconomy (China surge breakdown)
Hanoi Cracks Open the Boarding Gate
The foreign ownership cap in airlines could rise from 34% to 49%, putting the rules in Vietnam on par with those in Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia. A draft decree is circulating for comment, and it would let international investors take bigger stakes in Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet, possibly unlocking capital for fleet upgrades and route expansion just as tourism volumes are on the rise. The proposed changes also set new minimum equity thresholds: carriers with up to 30 aircraft need VND300 billion in equity capital, larger operators will require VND700 billion. Of course, at 49%, foreign investors still won’t be able to have a controlling stake.
Read more: Travel and Tour World
Retail Army Hits Twelve Million
Four years ahead of schedule, domestic investor accounts blew past the government's 2030 target of 11 million. As of January 31, accounts hit nearly 12.1 million after 244,370 new registrations in January alone. Retail traders make up the overwhelming bulk. The VN-Index rose to 1,860.14 on Monday, its highest close in a month and a fourth straight gain, even as post-holiday deposit rates at some banks edged up to 7.2% for longer tenors.
Read more: VnEconomy (January account surge), The Investor (earnings outlook bullish)
Seoul Elbows Out Tokyo for $2.3 Billion Gas Prize
SK Innovation and its state-owned Vietnamese partners won developer rights for a $2.3 billion LNG power complex in Nghe A Province, beating Japanese and Qatari rivals. The facility will bring together a 1,500MW gas-fired plant, a 250,000 cubic meter LNG terminal, and a dedicated port in Quynh Lap, about 220km south of Hanoi, with construction starting in 2027 and commercial operations by 2030. SK has been pitching what it calls a specialized energy-industry cluster model, setting up gas power as an anchor for AI data centers and logistics hubs while framing LNG as a bridge toward zero-carbon sources. The winning consortium includes PetroVietnam Power and local firm NASU, giving Seoul a foothold in one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing power markets. SK is now looking at an expansion that would turn the terminal into a regional hub supplying nearby plants, a plan that would cement Korean influence over the north-central grid for the next decade.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review
Hanoi Races North
Two expressways near the Chinese border have an April 30 deadline for completion, and the PM visited both so that he could make that clear. The 60km Huu Nghi-to-Chi Lang highway, a $454 million project, connects three international border gates to China and is already almost two-thirds complete. The larger Dong Dang-to-Tra Linh project runs 121km at a total investment of more than a billion USD, with 85km technically connected. Separately, Hai Phong just won approval for a 5,300-hectare specialized economic zone that will be focused on pulling in high-tech and green industries. The SEX is expected to add 3-4% of the port city's GRDP by 2030. Both the expressways and the new zone are in the same northern corridor where Chinese supply chains can get to Vietnamese ports.
Read more: VnEconomy, VnEconomy (hectare coverage GRDP)
From SUVs to Stair Climbers
THACO, Vietnam's largest automaker, opened a $70 million manufacturing center in Da Nang that will make fitness equipment, supermarket trolleys, and automotive interiors. The three factories cover 92,000 square meters and are expected to generate $60 million in export revenue this year, and up to $100 million next. The household equipment plant will churn out 150,000 treadmills and ellipticals yearly alongside 140,000 shopping carts, while the automotive interiors facility wants to boost local content rates and crack global supply chains for international car brands. Central Vietnam's pitch is for reliable capacity for mid-tier industrial goods that need scale and quality control, rather than bleeding-edge tech.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review
Thu Thiem's Ninth Life
Ho Chi Minh City has approved planning adjustments for 128.51 hectares of Thu Thiem New Urban Area, the latest attempt to deliver on the long-delayed financial district. The changes prioritize two anchor projects (a Central Square and the city's new Political-Administrative Center), with a multi-functional public complex rounding out the plan. The adjustment keeps total floor area unchanged but will allow for more green space and public amenities to support the International Financial Center ambitions. A new plan is good news, but we’ll see if the planners are able to hand things over to the doers this time.
Read more: VnEconomy
Vietnam's E10 Switch Hits June 1
The mandatory E10 biofuel rollout starts June 1, requiring all fuel stations to carry the 10% ethanol blend. The government's been pushing the switch since late 2024, but the hard deadline is now just three months out, and refineries still need to finish upgrades and ethanol producers have to shore up inputs (mostly cassava and sugarcane feedstock). It’s going to be tight.
Read more: TV BRICS
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.
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