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Eric Trump, son of the US president, is expected in Vietnam this week for discussions on a proposed new Trump Tower that come just as the south-east Asian nation rushes to avoid punitive US trade tariffs.
The official Vietnam News Agency reported on Monday that the Trump Organization was considering expanding its investment in Vietnam by building the tower in the southern financial centre of Ho Chi Minh City.
Eric Trump was expected to hold discussions with city officials on Thursday on possible locations and other details of the tower project, the agency said.
President Donald Trump’s sons manage the Trump Organization, but some analysts and business executives have said its growing interest in Vietnam could be positive for the country as it tries to strike a tariffs deal with Washington.
Eric Trump’s visit will come just days after Vietnam approved a $1.5bn Trump Organization project consisting of a golf course, hotels and luxury residences. The project, a joint venture with Vietnamese company KinhBac City Development Holding, is expected to kick off construction this year and be completed by 2029.
Donald Trump hit Vietnam with a “reciprocal” tariff rate of 46 per cent in April, though the US president later granted the country and other trading partners a 90-day reprieve.
The 46 per cent rate would be a huge blow to Vietnam, which has emerged as a manufacturing powerhouse in recent years as production has shifted from China. It is now a critical link in global supply chains and counts Apple, Samsung and Nike as key investors.
Vietnam’s economy, one of the fastest growing in the world, is heavily dependent on exports, a third of which go to the US alone.
Hanoi now faces tough negotiations with Washington to agree lower tariffs after Trump’s pause on the implementation of most of them ends in July.
Trump administration officials have repeatedly criticised Vietnam for its massive trade surplus with the US — the third largest after China and Mexico. They have also accused Vietnam of acting as a conduit for Chinese companies looking to avoid tariffs by shipping to the US via a third country.
Vietnam trade and industry minister Nguyen Hong Dien met US trade representative Jamieson Green in South Korea last week.
Hanoi has promised to buy more American goods, including Boeing aircraft and agricultural products, to remove non-tariff barriers and to intensify a crackdown on trans-shipment of exports to the US from other countries.
KinhBac City did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Alex Rogers in Washington
