"A good strategy" or "a strain on the economy": Vietnamese Americans divided on new Trump tariffs

Record ID: 1987880

  • Title: "A good strategy" or "a strain on the economy": Vietnamese Americans divided on new Trump tariffs
  • Date: 3rd April 2025
  • Summary: WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 2, 2025) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF VIETNAMESE PLAZA LITTLE SAIGON BANNER VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) VI DANG, 30, INVESTOR SAYING: “It is a good strategy of fighting. So for me, I'm American. I live in America. I live in American culture. So I live under leadership of Donald Trump, right? So whatever he do
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: TARIFFS TRUMP U.S. President Donald Trump VIETNAM Vietnamese Americans imports trade
  • Location: WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: WESTMINSTER, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America,Government/Politics,International Trade
  • Reuters ID: LVA001376502042025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Some of the highest tariffs unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (April 2), which he touted as ‘Liberation Day,’ were on trading partners in Asia.
    In the Vietnamese-American community of Little Saigon in Orange County, California, residents had mixed reactions to Trump’s announcement of a 46% levy on imports from Vietnam, one of the steepest across the board.
    “It is a good strategy of fighting," said Vi Dang as she exited a Vietnamese restaurant. "I live under leadership of Donald Trump, right? So whatever he do, we need to support Donald Trump,”
    Little Saigon is home to many residents who fled Vietnam as refugees during or soon after the U.S. war in Vietnam ended in 1975.
    Trump’s 10% minimum tariff on most goods imported to the United States kicked into high gear a global trade war that threatens to drive up inflation and stall U.S. and worldwide economic growth.
    Nam Phan, who works forthe Orange County Sheriff's Department, said he feared the steep tariffs would put stress on everyday Vietnamese shoppers.
    “It's going to make the working class for the Vietnamese community suffer a lot,” he said.
    The sweeping duties promise to erect new barriers around the world's largest consumer economy, reversing decades of trade liberalization that have shaped the global order.
    Trading partners are expected to respond with countermeasures of their own that could lead to dramatically higher prices for everything from bicycles to wine.
    (Production: Alan Devall, Jorge Garcia)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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