The article by Mr. Dinh Hong Ky was published in the “Góc nhìn” (Perspective) section of VnExpress on April 10, 2025.
Last night, I slept fitfully, frequently waking up to check the news from the other side of the globe.
And then, I finally breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that President Donald Trump had temporarily suspended the tariffs for 90 days.
As the chairman of a company that derives up to 50% of its export revenue from the U.S. market, the retaliatory tariff of 46% came as a shock beyond anything I had imagined.
Over the past several days, we have been in constant contact with our distributors in the U.S. Their reactions were equally stunned. Mr. John, a distributor in California who supports Trump and the Republican Party, could not hide his concern. However, he reassured me that this might just be a strategic move—a diplomatic maneuver to gain leverage in upcoming trade negotiations—and that the situation would stabilize soon.
Meanwhile, a distributor in Florida was blunt: “If the U.S. actually enforces this tariff, your products, along with many other Vietnamese goods, will struggle to remain in the U.S. market.” A cold, but realistic assessment.
On the East Coast, a distributor in New York—who supports the Democratic Party—thought we should not be overly worried about the President’s statements and continued discussing orders as usual. Over the past days, he kept placing orders, showing his confidence in long-term stability.
Despite differences in political views and reactions to the news, all three distributors agreed this is a genuinely difficult period. To overcome it, everyone in the distribution chain must unite, sharing part of their profits to keep prices stable and maintain the market.
Not only in the U.S., distributors in Europe, Japan, and Australia also quickly reached out, even though our goods in those markets are not affected by the new tariffs.
Our distributor in the Netherlands pledged to increase orders to help us weather the difficulties in the U.S. market. Maurits—our product development partner—flew in last night to help us restructure products to compensate for the American market.
Our longtime partner in Japan actively shared new product trends and proposed cooperation to develop product lines suited for expanding market share there.
Most impressively, a distributor from Australia immediately flew to Vietnam after receiving the news to work with us on new designs, preparing to participate in a major trade fair in Sydney next month.
These actions are not only timely responses but also strong indicators of the trust and steadfast partnership we have built over the years.
Yesterday, I read a statement from Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong—a calm, insightful speech on how the global trade system works. I rarely get emotional about financial matters, but this passage struck a chord:
“Retaliatory tariffs fundamentally reject WTO rules. One of the WTO’s core principles is Most Favored Nation (MFN). MFN may sound like a privilege, but actually means all members must treat all others equally… It ensures a level playing field, prevents discrimination, and allows countries big or small to compete fairly in the global market…
If other countries adopt America’s approach, the rule-based trade system will collapse. This will trouble all countries, but smaller nations like Singapore will face greater pressure. Smaller countries have little bargaining power in bilateral negotiations. The great powers will set the rules, and we risk being sidelined.”
These words reminded me of the COVID-19 era, when our workers in Binh Duong stayed in factories for months under a strict “three-on-the-spot” regime to maintain production. During that time, they worked tirelessly to supply tiles for the headquarters building of Pfizer—the world’s top vaccine company then—in New York. I wondered how this turbulent world should have brought nations closer, and given the decades-long operation of global trade, how any country could not be a link in the global supply chain?
Yet, observing the trade landscape over the past decade, I also noticed the increasing wave of protectionism, including rising import tariffs in wealthy countries, threatening jobs and incomes in poorer nations.
The situation faced by our company and many others in Vietnam is a warning for distribution systems and global supply chains alike. Overdependence on a single market—even the world’s largest—carries serious risks. It is time for businesses to proactively diversify markets, restructure distribution channels, and form strategic alliances to ensure long-term sustainability.
This calls for a new mindset in building distribution systems, avoiding overconcentration in any single geographic region. Instead, develop a more balanced global distribution network so no single shock can destabilize the entire system.
From another perspective, Vietnamese businesses could consider shifting from traditional business and distribution models to D2C (Direct-to-Consumer). With experience in e-commerce and the rapid growth of AI, IoT technologies, we can gradually adopt this model to optimize costs.
From the government’s standpoint, in my opinion, there should be a clear distinction between “Made in Vietnam” and “Made by Vietnam.” Vietnam should develop criteria to attract high-quality investors who bring real value-added and long-term contributions to the economy, replacing FDI enterprises that merely use Vietnam as a transit point to evade taxes. This not only harms the national economy but directly affects Vietnamese-owned companies striving to export.
More than ever, the government needs concrete, practical policies to support truly Vietnamese businesses—those generating 100% value-added for the country. Farmers growing rice in An Giang, shrimp farmers in Ben Tre, furniture workers in Binh Duong, coffee growers in Buon Ma Thuot—are all counting on timely, decisive policies to secure their futures.
National-level upheavals always test unity, strategic vision, and capacity for action. A shock can shake the market, but with resilience and clarity, it can also mark the beginning of new thinking, new approaches, and a stronger future.
