By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen
HANOI (Reuters) -France and Vietnam are set to sign dozens of deals on Monday when French President Emmanuel Macron meets Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi as he seeks to increase France’s influence in the former colony, which faces threats of high U.S. tariffs.
In his first formal visit to the country, and the first for a French president in nearly a decade, Macron will be accompanied by more than a dozen business executives, said an official with knowledge of the matter, and is expected to oversee the signing of possibly 30 agreements while trying to boost cooperation in multiple sectors, including aviation, nuclear energy, railways, renewables, research, satellites and defence.
Macron’s long-planned trip to Vietnam, the first leg of a larger Southeast Asian tour including Indonesia and Singapore, comes on the heels of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats on Friday to impose 50% duties on EU goods from June, critically escalating trade tensions with the 27-country bloc.
As export-dependent Vietnam is also under pressure from Washington to buy more American goods to avoid 46% duties, European officials before Macron’s visit have told the country to be careful in its concessions to the White House, two officials based in Vietnam with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
In talks with the United States, “Vietnam should make sure not to make decisions at the expense of European interests,” one of the officials said, noting Vietnamese leaders had been told this could jeopardise close relations with the EU, which has a free trade deal with Vietnam and is a major buyer of its goods.
It is not clear whether Macron will emphasise that message on Monday as that may depend on the deals France will strike.
AIRBUS
There could be progress on a deal between Vietnam’s low-cost airline VietJet and European planemaker Airbus, two sources familiar with the discussions said. That would follow a provisional agreement signed last year for the delivery of 20 A330neo wide-body airliners.
“We don’t comment on discussions we may or may not be having with airlines,” an Airbus spokesperson said.
Macron’s Elysee presidential office had previously confirmed dozens of deals were expected, but did not respond to a request for comment on planes and Macron’s messaging about U.S. concessions.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry and VietJet did not reply to requests for comment.
Talks on satellites, including from Airbus, are also at an advanced stage, officials have said.
Vietnam, whose economy is heavily dependent on exports to the U.S., has made multiple pledges in trade talks with Washington to avoid tariffs that could undermine its growth model.
One frequently flagged offer has been the possible purchase of at least 250 Boeing planes by flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and rival VietJet, which Vietnamese and U.S. officials have said would help reduce the country’s huge trade surplus with the U.S. and possibly appease Trump.
European officials are worried Airbus may lose out from these possible deals, said three sources with knowledge of the concerns.
The planemaker is the main supplier of jets to Vietnam, with its aircraft making up 86% of the planes currently operated by Vietnamese airlines, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher, Lisa Barrington, Elizabeth Pineau and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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