Vietnam Still Trolling Donald Trump With Economic Successes
Vietnamese dong banknotes.
MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP via Getty Images
Vietnam just made a deal with the U.S. Treasury Department: we won’t weaken the dong if you take us off the dreaded “currency manipulator” list.
It’s actually a bigger victory for Hanoi than Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính’s government may realize.
The mere presence of Vietnam in the Treasury’s crosshairs is a story in itself. Last December, the recently defeated Donald Trump White House perplexed many when it added tiny Vietnam to what’s essentially a rogue-trading nation list aimed at China.
At the time, Vietnam was getting huge kudos for having won the outgoing U.S. president’s trade war. All those tariffs and company bans Trump tossed China’s way didn’t bring factories back to America. A critical mass simply shifted production to Vietnam. Other than vindictiveness, there’s no good explanation for hitting…