President Donald Trump told Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam that he will remove the country from a list restricted from accessing advanced U.S. technologies, the Asian nation’s government announced on Saturday.

The two leaders met in person for the first time at the White House on Friday, after Lam attended the inaugural meeting of Trump’s “Board of Peace” in Washington.

Trump backed deeper economic, science, and technology cooperation between the two nations, while Lam called for talks to resolve outstanding trade issues between the two sides, according to the official statement.

Trump has also accepted an invitation from Lam to visit Vietnam, the statement added.

Vietnam Snaps Up US Airplanes

The meeting follows a flurry of deals announced this week, worth over $30 ​billion, under which Vietnamese airlines would buy 90 aircraft from U.S. aircraft maker Boeing (NYSE:BA).

When Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April last year, Vietnam had the third-largest trade surplus with the U.S. after China and Mexico. The total goods traded with Vietnam were worth $123.5 billion in 2024, according to official data.

But in July, Hanoi secured a minimum 20% tariff with Washington, down from more than 40%, in return for opening its market to U.S. products, including cars.

The latest announcement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping "reciprocal" import duties on Friday in a major setback to his key economic policy, causing him to retaliate with a new 10% tariff on all countries.

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