Customs duty from Vietnam to United States: Import Duty Guide

Key Takeaways

• Vietnam and the US have no free trade agreement - a 2025 framework set tariff terms, but it wasn’t a formal FTA.
• A widely-reported 20% tariff (40% for transshipped goods) from a July 2025 framework was built on legal authority the Supreme Court struck down in February 2026 - current sources disagree on what replaced it.
• Vietnam was the US’s 5th largest source of goods imports in 2025, at $193.88 billion, with one of the largest deficits per export dollar of any US trading partner.
• Transshipment scrutiny is unusually elevated on this lane, since Vietnam is a specifically-targeted corridor for China-origin goods rerouted to avoid China-specific tariffs.
• This is the single most disputed rate this site tracks across any lane - do not treat any specific percentage here as settled without checking a live source first.

Vietnam-US Trade at a Glance

Vietnam was the US’s fifth-largest source of goods imports in 2025, at $193.88 billion, against just $15.60 billion in US exports to Vietnam - a $178.28 billion deficit, one of the largest per export dollar of any US trading partner (US Census Bureau).

Is There a Trade Deal Between Vietnam and the US?

Not a formal free trade agreement. A joint statement on 2 July 2025 established a US-Vietnam framework for “reciprocal, fair, and balanced trade,” setting a 20% tariff on Vietnam-origin goods and a punitive 40% tariff specifically on goods determined to be transshipped through Vietnam - meaning goods substantially made elsewhere (commonly China) and merely routed through Vietnam to disguise their true origin (White House joint statement).

What Tariffs Apply Right Now (And Why That Keeps Changing)

This is genuinely the most disputed figure this site tracks. The 2025 framework’s 20%/40% structure was built on IEEPA reciprocal-tariff authority, which the US Supreme Court struck down in February 2026 - meaning that specific tariff layer should no longer be in effect as originally structured. Some July 2026 sources describe genuinely Vietnam-made goods (not transshipped) as instead falling under the flat 10% Section 122 baseline that briefly replaced IEEPA tariffs (Trade With Viet). But the July 2026 Section 301 forced-labor tariff program - the mechanism currently in effect - explicitly names Vietnam in its standard 12.5% additive tier, with no preferential “net-of-MFN” treatment (Holland & Knight). Whether the 20%/40% framework figures are still being applied in practice, have been replaced by the lower Section 301 figures, or some combination of both is currently unclear from public sources. Do not publish or rely on a single confident number for this lane without checking a live, current tariff lookup first.

How Much Will You Pay Importing from Vietnam to the US?

Given the genuine dispute above, expect somewhere in a wide range - roughly 10% to 20% for goods genuinely made in Vietnam, potentially much higher (up to the previously-cited 40%) if CBP determines a shipment is transshipped rather than genuinely Vietnam-origin. US valuation uses FOB, there’s no VAT (only state sales tax at checkout), no de minimis exemption at any value, and a Merchandise Processing Fee of roughly $8.06 on a typical informal entry.

This site’s live calculator uses a flat general-merchandise duty estimate that may significantly understate the actual rate on this lane, particularly for anything CBP might flag as transshipped - treat its output with real caution here specifically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Vietnam have a free trade agreement with the US?

No. A 2025 framework set tariff terms for the relationship, but it’s not a formal FTA, and the specific tariff rates that framework established are themselves now in dispute following a February 2026 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the legal authority they were built on.

Why is Vietnam’s rate specifically called out as disputed?

Multiple tariff mechanisms have applied to this lane in sequence (a 2025 framework, then Section 122, then Section 301), and current sources genuinely disagree on which figures from each are still operative - this is more unsettled than any other lane this site currently tracks.

What is transshipment, and why does it matter for Vietnam specifically?

Transshipment is routing goods substantially made in one country (commonly China) through another country to disguise their true origin and access that country’s lower tariff rate. Vietnam is a specifically-targeted corridor for this practice, and goods CBP determines are transshipped can face a much higher tariff - reportedly up to 40% under the 2025 framework - than genuinely Vietnam-made goods.

How big is US-Vietnam trade?

Vietnam was the US’s 5th largest source of goods imports in 2025, at $193.88 billion, against only $15.60 billion in US exports - one of the largest trade imbalances of any US trading partner.