特朗普大力打擊東南亞作為中國替代者的地位 (2/2)

 Recently The New York Times reported the following:

Trump Took a Wrecking Ball to Southeast Asia’s Role as an Alternative to China (2/2)

Punishing tariffs on Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and others in the region threaten their position as major manufacturing hubs for the American market.

By Alexandra Stevenson Reporting from Hong Kong

April 3, 2025

Updated 10:04 a.m. ET

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The United States is Vietnam’s largest export market, accounting for more than 30 percent of its total exports, including consumer electronics, smartphones, garments and footwear and wood furniture. Around a third of U.S. footwear was made in the country last year, making it the largest exporter of shoes to the United States. Nike, the sportswear brand, produces about 50 percent of its footwear in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s prime minister, Pham Minh Chinh, held an emergency cabinet meeting with his top ministers on Thursday to discuss how to respond to the tariffs. Other government agencies convened to try to understand how the Trump administration tariffs were calculated and how they would be applied. Companies and business associations, many of which had anticipated a tariff of 10 percent, expressed hope that the government could still hold talks with the Trump administration to reduce the levy.

“I was horrified when I saw the tariff numbers on the chart,” said Hong Sun, chairman of a South Korean business association in Vietnam, whose members includes the consumer electronics companies Samsung and LG.

“We can only hope that the Vietnamese government can help us weather this tsunami,” he said.

In Thailand, the government emphasized that it was ready to negotiate and “engage in dialogue” with Washington. But it also encouraged companies to “seek new potential markets” in the face of the 36 percent tariffs levied on goods going to the United States, its biggest export market.

For American business owners such as Patrick Soong, who helps U.S. companies to design and make their products in the region, the tariffs on Thursday create uncertainty. His clients make everything from luggage to camera accessories to medical devices.

Mr. Soong and his company, Allitra, spent months looking for alternatives to China for his clients after Mr. Trump was re-elected last November. But on Thursday he was already making plans to move some production out of Thailand and Vietnam.

Mr. Soong planned to visit new factories in the Philippines with the idea of potentially moving some manufacturing there. Mr. Trump imposed new tariffs of 17 percent on the Philippines, less than half the duty he placed on Thailand and nearly a third lower than on Vietnam.

“I was planning on moving more product to Thailand," said Mr. Soong.

“I was looking at it as a next bet,” he said. “That has been disrupted.”

(Damien Cave and Tung Ngo contributed reporting from Ho Chi Minh City, and Muktita Suhartono and Sui-Lee Wee from Bangkok.)

Translation

特朗普大力打擊東南亞作為中國替代者的地位 (2/2)

對越南、柬埔寨、泰國和該地區其他國家徵收懲罰性關稅以威嚇它們作為美國市場主要製造中心的地位。

（繼續）

美國是越南最大的出口市場，佔其出口總額的30%以上，包括消費性電子產品、智慧型手機、服裝和鞋類以及木製家具。去年，美國約有三分之一的鞋類是在中國生產的，中國是美國最大的鞋類出口國。運動服飾品牌Nike約 50% 的鞋類產品在越南生產。

越南總理 Pham Minh Chinh 週四與各高級部長召開緊急內閣會議，討論如何應對關稅。其他政府機構召開會議，試圖了解特朗普政府的關稅是如何計算以及如何實施。許多企業和商業協會期望10%關稅，他們表示希望政府仍能與特朗普政府進行談判，以降低關稅。

越南一家韓國商業協會會長Hong Sun表示:「當我看到圖表上的關稅數字時，我感到震驚」，該協會的成員包括消費性電子公司三星和 LG。

他說:「我們只能希望越南政府能夠幫助我們渡過這場海嘯」。

在泰國，政府強調已準備好與華盛頓進行談判和「對話」。但面對中國對最大出口市場美國徵收 36% 關稅的威脅，中國政府也鼓勵企業「尋找新的潛在市場」。

對於像Patrick Soong這樣幫助美國公司在該地區設計和生產產品的美國企業擁有者來說，週四的關稅帶來了不確定性。他的客戶生產各種產品，從行李箱到相機配件到醫療設備。

去年 11 月特朗普再次當選後，Soong先生和他的公司 Allitra 花了數月時間為客戶尋找中國的替代方案。但周四他已開始製定計劃，將部分生產轉移出泰國和越南。

Soong 先生計劃參觀菲律賓的新工廠，以考慮將部分製造業轉移到那裡。特朗普對菲律賓徵收了 17% 的新關稅，不到對泰國徵收的關稅的一半，比對越南徵收的關稅低近三分之一。

Soong 先生說: 「我計劃將更多產品運往泰國」。

他說：“我把它看作是下一個賭注” ;“這已經被打亂了。”

So, for a long time, countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand have worked to turn themselves into alternatives to China for factories making goods that eventually sold in the United States. That will be changed after President Trump imposes high tariffs at countries in Southeast Asia. This decision by Trump is a blow to American companies that depend on factories in the region. Apparently, price of imported goods in the US will increase and inflation in the country will go up. While the tariffs may induce some overseas factories to move to the US, I am wondering whether Trump fully knows its negative effect and impact on the US economically and on its global allies politically.