Trade is definitely on the Trump Administration's policy agenda this week. While one immediate focus is China — there's another Asian country that may soon come under closer view.
About 30 years ago, Vietnam was still under a U.S. trade embargo — a lingering wound from the war.
The first year after the embargo, the two countries had about $500 million in two-way trade.
U.S. figures show that last year, two-way trade totaled nearly $150 billion in goods alone.
But there's a political challenge attached to those numbers.
For the United States, it's an annual trade deficit exceeding $123 billion — up nearly 20% from a year ago.
That's a higher trade deficit than the United States has with Japan.
Vietnamese political leaders understand what that means.
According to the government-run Vietnam News Agency, leaders realize, “Trump's new trade policies could impact Vietnamʻs economy, requiring careful monitoring and strategic adjustments.”
The numbers also illustrate the complexities of international trade in today's interconnected world.
Fifteen years ago, Intel opened a $1.5 billion manufacturing plant in Vietnam — its exports to U.S. customers count as part of that trade deficit with Vietnam, even though the economics benefit an American company.
The economics of trade are one case; the politics of trade, another matter entirely.
