Vietnam’s leadership was caught off guard by US President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that it agreed to a 20% tariff, and the Southeast Asian nation is still seeking to lower the rate, according to people familiar with the matter.

Announcing the deal with Vietnam last week, Trump said that the US will instead impose a 20 per cent tariff on Vietnamese goods. A higher rate of 40 per cent will apply on any goods from Vietnam it considers to have been ‘trans-shipped’ – i.