EU's Sefcovic postpones Vietnam visit amid tariff crisis

FILE PHOTO: Maros Sefcovic, nominee for EU trade commissioner, holds press conference in Brussels

FILE PHOTO: Maros Sefcovic, the nominee to become the European Union's trade and economic commissioner, holds a press conference after hearings, in Brussels, Belgium November 4, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Source: REUTERS

European trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic has postponed a planned trip to Vietnam this week due to "the latest international developments," the EU delegation in Hanoi said.

Sefcovic was due to arrive in Vietnam on Thursday and attend a press event on Friday organised by the European chamber of commerce, invitations sent by the organisers showed.

"Considering the latest international developments, the commissioner will come at a later stage, probably July," the EU delegation said in a statement to Reuters, referring to wide-ranging global tariffs imposed by the United States last week and due to take effect on Wednesday.

The EU's interest in improving trade flows with Vietnam remains unchanged, the delegation noted. The EU and Vietnam signed a free trade deal in 2019.

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Separately on Wednesday, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi as part of a two-country trip to East Asia that will end in Beijing on Friday.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters