Vietnam to support deportations from US after tariff threats, lawyer says

By Francesco Guarascio

HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam has pledged to support the repatriation of a few dozen Vietnamese nationals detained in the U.S. and to quickly handle new requests for deportations after U.S. threats of trade tariffs and visa sanctions, a lawyer briefed on the matter said.

The move is part of a broader set of concessions the Communist-run country is considering to avoid duties that could cripple its economy, which is the most reliant on exports to the United States among all top U.S. trade partners.

Vietnam has agreed to respond to U.S. deportation requests in 30 days, "which is a lot faster than they have ever done in the past," said Tin Thanh Nguyen, a U.S.-based immigration attorney.

Relaying information he obtained from a Vietnamese official, he said Hanoi had also agreed during the first month of the second Trump presidency to issue travel documents for 30 detained Vietnamese nationals, paving the way for their deportation.

He said that was unusual because Vietnam "historically denied issuing them and dragged out the process," effectively preventing many deportations.     When asked about Vietnam, Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said: "We expect all countries to take back their citizens in the U.S. illegally, or face consequences such as visa sanctions or tariffs."

Vietnam's foreign ministry did not reply to a request for comment.

A spokesperson for the Vietnamese ministry had said earlier in February that Vietnam would "continue to cooperate closely with the U.S. on the repatriation of citizens in accordance with signed agreements".

TRADE RISKS

During the first month of the second Trump administration, 37,660 people were deported, official data show, mostly to Latin American countries. It is unclear how many Vietnamese have been deported but some have been sent to Panama.  

The Vietnamese official told Tin that Vietnam changed tack after U.S. authorities threatened trade tariffs and unspecified visa sanctions if they did not take back illegal migrants.

Trump has so far not explicitly singled out Vietnam in his barrage of tariff announcements, but his aides have, and the country is seen at risk of duties for its large trade surplus and multiple trade barriers. 

Vietnam would also be highly exposed to threatened global duties on semiconductors, because is among the top exporters of chips to the U.S..

Tin said most of the more than 8,600 Vietnamese nationals who are currently facing "an order of removal" from the U.S. were migrants who entered the country usually as refugees before 1995, following the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Additional reporting by James Pearson in London and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)