Vietnam’s top leader Tho Lam awaits the arrival of US President Donald Trump at the inaugural meeting of the Peace Board in Washington, DC on February 19, 2026. | Photo credit: AFP
US President Donald Trump told Vietnam’s top leader that he would “instruct relevant agencies” to remove the country from a list barred from accessing advanced US technologies, the Vietnamese government announced on Saturday (Feb 21, 2026).
The two leaders met in person at the White House for the first time, after Mr Lam attended the inaugural meeting of Mr Trump’s “Board of Peace” in Washington on Friday (Feb 20, 2026).
“Donald Trump said he will soon instruct relevant agencies to remove Vietnam from the Strategic Export Control List,” Hanoi’s government news website said.
Trump’s tariffs were directly rejected by the US Supreme Court
US Supreme Court Mr. The two countries have been locked in protracted trade negotiations, with many of Trump’s tariffs ruled illegal.
Three Vietnamese airlines announced acquisitions worth nearly $37 billion this week in a series of deals signed with US aerospace companies.
Emerging airline Sun Phu Quoc Airways placed an order for 40 of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners, a long-haul aircraft, worth an estimated $22.5 billion, while national carrier Vietnam Airlines placed an $8.1 billion order for about 50 Boeing 737-8 planes.
In April Mr. When Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, Vietnam had the third-largest trade surplus with the US of any country, behind China and Mexico, and Mr. Trump’s tariff blitz is targeting one of the highest rates.
But in July, Hanoi agreed to a minimum 20% tariff with Washington, which was reduced by more than 40% in exchange for opening its market to US products, including cars.
It signed off on a global 10% tariff on all countries on Friday (February 20), hours after the Supreme Court ruled that several of Mr Trump’s tariffs on imports were illegal.
Published – February 21, 2026 09:28 am IST
