US, Vietnam agree to launch trade deal talks as tariffs paused

The United States and Vietnam have agreed to launch negotiations for a trade agreement, the Vietnamese government said on Thursday, hours after the U.S. paused the implementation of a 46% tariff rate on Vietnam's exports for 90 days. The two countries will consider removing as many non-tariff barriers as possible, the government said in a statement released after a meeting between Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington.