Samsung may soon breathe a sigh of relief if the US and Vietnam reach a new trade agreement. The Vietnamese government has proposed eliminating tariffs on US imports on the condition that the Trump administration does the same for Vietnamese exports. If the deal goes through, it could help Samsung maintain current Galaxy phone prices in the US market.
Vietnam could come to Samsung’s rescue as the US imposes tariffs on Galaxy phones
The Donald Trump-led US government recently announced tariffs on imported goods, including smartphones. Most notably, the US imposed a 46% tariff on all goods imported from Vietnam. Samsung, which brings most of its Galaxy phones to the US from Vietnam — the country is responsible for producing more than 50% of Samsung’s global smartphone output — is under pressure to increase the prices stateside due to these tariffs.
The Vietnamese government has now stepped in, trying to help the Korean firm, one of the biggest contributors to the Vietnamese economy. The country’s General Secretary, To Lam, reportedly had a phone call with US President Donald Trump to discuss trade cooperation. Lam proposed to cut tariffs on US imports to 0% if the US did the same for Vietnamese exports.
This may sound like a reasonable trade proposal, but the reality is quite different. Vietnam sends a substantially larger amount of goods to the US than it brings back home from the US. In 2024, Vietnam imported goods worth $13.1 billion from the US but made exports worth $136.6 billion. As such, a 0% tariff deal between the two countries benefits companies that export from Vietnam more.
Samsung is one of the top names on that list, and it’d be watching these discussions closely. The Korean firm doesn’t make phones in North America, so the new tariffs could have a major impact on its US business unless the Trump administration agrees to Vietnam’s proposal or at least lowers import tariffs on goods manufactured in Vietnam. For now, we can only hope that the countries reach a fair agreement soon.
