It is almost certain that the Donald Trump 2.0 administration will closely monitor and take tough actions regarding trade surpluses that other countries have with the U.S. This article outlines the challenges that developing nations like Vietnam may face and proposes measures to mitigate potential risks. With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in January 2025, global trade is poised for significant change, especially for nations with large current account surpluses with the U.S., such as Vietnam. During his first term, President Trump pursued an “America First” agenda by initiating a trade war with China, which at the time held the largest trade surplus with the U.S. In his recent presidential campaign, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to this approach, promising to impose minimum tariffs of 60% on goods from China and 10-20% on goods from other countries. Before taking office, Trump signaled his plans to impose a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and to raise tariffs on Chinese imports by 10 percentage points. On November 26, 2024, Trump nominated Jamieson Greer as U.S. Trade Representative. Greer previously served as chief of staff to Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative during Trump’s first term, and is a […]