Leaders from both nations agreed to deepen cooperation in key sectors, including critical minerals, defense, infrastructure, and advanced technology.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam agreed Monday to accelerate cooperation and nearly double annual trade to $150 billion by 2030, part of a broader push to counter the impact of newly imposed U.S. tariffs.
At a joint press event in Seoul, Lee referred to Vietnam as “a very important neighboring country” in both trade and security, while Lam stated that expanding military ties could help strengthen regional stability, according to Bloomberg.
Vietnam is South Korea’s biggest investment target and its third-largest trading partner. As of May, there are 94 billion dollars of registered projects in Vietnam. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $81.5 billion last year, an increase of 7.3% over 2023.
Both nations recently reached separate trade deals with the U.S. under President Donald Trump’s tariff plan.
South Korea secured a 15% levy after avoiding a potential 25% rate from August and agreed to measures, including granting Washington access to $350 billion in U.S.-controlled investments, purchasing $100 billion in American LNG and energy products, and further opening its markets to U.S. goods. Vietnam’s deal set a 20% tariff on its exports to the U.S.
Lee said the deal removes the uncertainty of exports and levels the playing field, allowing South Korean companies to compete on an equal footing with major countries. He said the partnership will concentrate on shipbuilding, semiconductors, secondary batteries, biotechnology, and energy.
Lee and Lam also agreed to deepen cooperation in critical minerals, defense and infrastructure during talks on Monday.
South Korean companies are expected to participate in Vietnam’s major infrastructure projects, including the development of new cities, high-speed rail systems, and nuclear power plants. Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu said the visit would also open up more opportunities for cooperation on semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment was ‘bearish’ for the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) and ‘bullish’ for the VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM), with both seeing ‘normal’ and ‘low’ message volume, respectively.
So far this year, VNM is up 49.7%, outperforming EWY’s 44.4% gain.
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