Two Vietnamese entrepreneurs, whose firms depend almost entirely on exports to the United States, have voiced grave concern about the impact of the proposed 46 percent US tariff. Speaking to BBC News, SHDC Electronics founder Le Song Hao and KPY Interior CEO Hoang Thi Nhu Yen said their businesses are already under pressure and may not survive if punitive tariffs are reinstated after the current 90-day suspension.
Le Song Hao (SHDC Electronics):
- Hao said a return to the 46 percent tariff would be “a disaster” and could cause the company to “go bankrupt.”
- SHDC, which exports phone chargers and accessories, earns around US$2 million per month from the US market. “Losing an order means losing everything,” he said.
- Even now, American customers are asking for new quotes, trying to shift some of the cost burden back to suppliers. “They have to accept losses because some shipments have already been produced.”
- On domestic competitiveness, Hao said it was nearly impossible to compete with Chinese goods in Vietnam, citing four reasons: lower production costs, currency devaluation, dominance of Chinese e-commerce platforms, and widespread smuggling that lets Chinese goods evade taxes.
- “Even though we are domestic businesses in Vietnam, the advantage seems to be completely tilted toward Chinese companies,” he said.
Hoang Thi Nhu Yen (KPY Interior):
- Yen said many Vietnamese exporters were now forced to “lie down and wait,” uncertain whether they would survive the next few months.
- Her company, which exports high-end furniture and software to US golf courses, has seen clients cut monthly container orders from five to just one due to inventory concerns.
- Though the 10 percent tariff now in place is bearable, any jump to 46 percent would make her products uncompetitive: “Consumers cannot accept a product that is already 46% more expensive due to tariffs alone.”
- Yen noted that her firm imports 30–40 percent of its raw materials from China. Retaliatory Chinese tariffs on US goods are also complicating supply chains.
- She added that the focus now is on finding “new methods and materials with the lowest cost to survive.”
These comments speak to how volatile tariff policies are destabilising Vietnam’s export economy. While the “China +1” strategy initially benefited firms like SHDC and KPY, they are now caught between high-cost production and eroding access to their largest market. Both executives are candid: survival may depend not only on policy outcomes but on completely rethinking production, pricing, and market access.
See also: What’s Next for Vietnam if Trump’s 46 Percent Tariff is Here To Stay?