Tesla, Samsung oppose possible U.S. tariffs on Vietnam as trade probe nears deadline

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Tesla, Samsung on Vietnam tariffs

Highlights

Tesla and Samsung urged the U.S. Trade Representative to avoid tariffs on Vietnam, citing essential supply chain dependencies and advanced components sourcing.
Vietnamese exports to the U.S. rose 42% year-over-year in the first eight months, making Vietnam the U.S. trading partner with the largest goods surplus ahead of China and Mexico.
The Trump administration’s potential Vietnam tariffs, possibly restoring a 12.5% rate, raise risks for major investors like Samsung, which has invested $25 billion in the country.

Trade probe draws conflicting industry positions

As reported by Reuters, the Trump administration has set a November 29 deadline to conclude a trade probe launched in May into Vietnam's alleged intellectual property violations. Washington has designated Vietnam a "priority foreign country", the first jurisdiction in 13 years to be placed in the most serious U.S. watchlist category, while a separate probe into alleged excessive capacity is also underway.

The U.S. has accused Vietnam of a persistent failure to resolve long-standing concerns about intellectual property protection and enforcement. Vietnam is urging Washington to conduct the investigations objectively, and it remains unclear whether any tariffs tied to the IP case would be broad-based or aimed at specific sectors.

Tesla tells the U.S. Trade Representative in July comments to consider the supply chain needs of American manufacturers, saying some advanced components and precision manufacturing equipment cannot be sourced domestically despite major U.S. production investments. Samsung's U.S. unit makes a similar case, saying Vietnam produces a significant share of the company's smartphones and network equipment for the U.S. market.

Retail groups and trade associations tied to footwear, apparel and consumer goods manufacturing in Vietnam also oppose additional tariffs. On the other side, industry groups representing U.S. producers of steel, seafood, plywood, solar panels and wood products accuse Vietnam of unfair practices and call for new duties.

Vietnam trade exposure raises stakes for manufacturers

Vietnamese exports to the U.S. surge 42% in the first eight months of this year from the same period in 2025, making Vietnam the U.S. trading partner with the largest goods surplus ahead of China and Mexico. At the end of 2025, Vietnam ranked as the fourth-largest by that measure.

The U.S. currently applies a general 12.5% tariff on Vietnamese goods that was imposed in July after an investigation into alleged failures to prevent imports of goods made with forced labour. Vietnam, long accused of serving as a transit hub for Chinese goods, also faced 20% tariffs after Trump's "Liberation Day", but those measures were struck down by the Supreme Court.

Many economists say the Trump administration's objective is to restore at least the same tariff level that the Supreme Court removed. That prospect is especially significant for Samsung, Vietnam's largest foreign investor, which has invested about $25 billion in the country.

Copyright holders are also pushing for tougher action. The Business Software Alliance, whose members include Microsoft, Oracle and IBM, says about three-quarters of software installed on personal computers in Vietnam was unlicensed, citing a 2017 survey, while the Motion Picture Association says Vietnam is a major hub for online piracy that hosted websites drawing more than 12.5 billion visits worldwide last year.

In our earlier report on rising U.S. toy prices ahead of the holiday season, we examined how import duties and energy- and shipping-related cost increases were already pushing retail prices higher. The article noted that even after U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were reduced from prior peaks, shelf prices remained elevated due to lagged pricing and ongoing input-cost pressure, squeezing margins for major toymakers and keeping consumer costs politically sensitive.

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