Vietnam has been holding talks with the US, its largest export market, to persuade the US President Donald Trump’s administration to take a benign view of its huge trade surplus with America, after Trump in April announced a “reciprocal” tariff rate of 46% on Vietnamese goods, to take effect in July.

Robert Kaproth, a senior US treasury official, said in a meeting with Vietnam’s deputy finance minister Cao Anh Tuan yesterday that the country must take measures to combat illegal transhipment and other kinds of trade fraud, Vietnam News Agency reported today.

Tuan asked Kaproth to help facilitate Vietnam’s imports of American high-tech products, as part of their efforts to narrow the trade deficit, which exceeded US$123 billion last year.

“Vietnam has demand for products that are strengths of the US in the fields of energy, high technology, aviation, machinery and equipment, and agricultural products,” Tuan said, according to the report.

The US treasury did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

In a bid to reduce its trade surplus with Washington, Hanoi has recently taken several measures, including cutting tariffs on a wide range of goods destined for the US and stepped up its crackdown on Chinese goods being shipped to the US via its territory.

Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the first round of tariff negotiations with the US took place earlier this month, noting that the country is among the first the US has agreed to hold tariff negotiations with.

Vietnam foreign ministry spokesman Pham Thu Hang said at a regular press conference yesterday that “Vietnam is actively promoting a balanced and sustainable trade relation with the US”.

“Negotiations between Vietnam and the US on its reciprocal tariffs on Vietnam’s exports are being implemented and specific information will be provided later,” she said.