Key facts
- Tesla and Samsung urged Washington not to impose new tariffs on Vietnamese goods, according to submissions to the US Trade Representative.
- The Trump administration set a November 29 deadline to conclude a trade probe launched in May over Vietnam's alleged intellectual property violations.
- Groups representing US producers of steel, seafood, plywood, solar panels, and wood products called for penalties on Vietnam.
- Tesla said some advanced components and precision manufacturing equipment cannot be sourced from US suppliers.
- Samsung is Vietnam's largest foreign investor, with about $25 billion invested in the country.
- Vietnam's exports to the US rose 42% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
Tesla and Samsung have urged Washington not to impose new tariffs on Vietnamese goods, according to submissions to the US Trade Representative (USTR) reported by Reuters. The Trump administration has set a November 29 deadline to conclude a trade probe launched in May over Vietnam's alleged intellectual property violations.
The submissions show a business community divided. Companies that make products in Vietnam want to protect their supply chains, while groups representing US producers of steel, seafood, plywood, solar panels, and wood products want penalties. Retail groups and trade associations representing footwear, apparel, and consumer goods makers also opposed further tariffs.
In comments sent to USTR on July 2, Tesla urged the agency to "take into account the supply chain needs of American manufacturers." The electric vehicle maker said some advanced components and precision manufacturing equipment cannot be sourced from US suppliers. Samsung's US unit made a similar case, noting that Vietnam produces a significant share of the smartphones and network equipment Samsung sells in the US market. Samsung is also Vietnam's largest foreign investor, with about $25 billion invested in the country.
USTR launched the probe in May under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, after designating Vietnam a "priority foreign country." Vietnam is the first jurisdiction in 13 years to be placed in that category, the most serious on the US intellectual property watchlist. It is not yet clear whether any tariffs linked to the IP probe would apply across the board or target specific sectors.
Copyright holders pressed a different point. The Business Software Alliance, whose members include Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM, cited a 2017 survey that found about three-quarters of software installed on personal computers in Vietnam was unlicensed. The Motion Picture Association said piracy websites hosted in Vietnam attracted more than 12.5 billion visits worldwide last year.
Vietnam's exports to the US rose 42% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, making it the US trading partner with the largest goods surplus, ahead of China and Mexico. Vietnam's goods already face a general 12.5% US tariff, imposed in July after an investigation into alleged failures to stop imports of goods made with forced labor. A separate US probe into alleged excess manufacturing capacity in Vietnam is also underway.