The Trump administration plans to announce an investigation into Vietnam’s currency practices, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The probe, undertaken through section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, would come after the Departments of Commerce and Treasury in August determined Vietnam had manipulated its currency in a specific trade case involving tires, the people said. The announcement could come as soon as this week, said the people, who asked not to be identified.
Vietnam is among the U.S.’s 10 biggest trading partners. The U.S.’s goods-trade deficit with the Asian nation this year reached $34.8 billion by July, the biggest after the shortfalls with China, Mexico and Switzerland.
The Trump administration used a so-called 301 investigation against China to apply tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports that initiated the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
These types of investigations usually take months, so any imposition of tariffs as a result wouldn’t likely occur before the November presidential election.
A new federal rule published this year allows the U.S. Commerce Department to treat currency undervaluation as a factor in determining countervailing duties on a trading partner.
Spokespeople for the Commerce Department and the U.S. Trade Representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Treasury referred comments to them.
By Jenny Leonard and Saleha Mohsin @ Bloomberg