WASHINGTON: The Trump administration on Friday opened an unfair trade practices investigation into Vietnam’s intellectual property protection policies and enforcement that may lead to new tariffs or other trade measures.
Vietnam was identified as a priority country by the US Trade Representative’s office on April 30 “due to its persistent failure to resolve long-standing concerns about IP protection and enforcement,” the USTR said.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry said the probe “is a procedure carried out under US law” and that issues would be addressed through consultations, adding that the United States had acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts and urging an “objective and fair assessment.”
Vietnam said it remains committed to strengthening intellectual property protection and enforcement.
During President Donald Trump’s first term in office, USTR used a Section 301 investigation into China’s IP-misappropriation and technology-transfer practices to impose sweeping tariffs of 25 percent on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of annual Chinese imports.
