There's no single flat "Vietnam tax" — US import duty is assessed per 10-digit HTS classification, not by country of origin. Vietnam has no free trade agreement with the US, so goods clear under the standard MFN (Column 1) tariff schedule, which this calculator uses a blended baseline of 3.9% to approximate pending your product's exact classification. Most standard categories — apparel, footwear, furniture, general electronics — simply pay that MFN rate with no preferential discount and no Section 301 surcharge. The exception is a short list of industries (solar cells, steel and derivative products, certain wood products, some seafood) where Vietnam-origin goods have drawn Anti-Dumping/Countervailing Duty orders that can add a much higher rate on top of the base duty — always check whether your specific HTS code carries an active AD/CVD order before quoting a landed cost.

Vietnam is not on the USTR's Section 301 tranche list the way China is, so Vietnamese cargo generally avoids the 7.5%–25%+ trade-war surcharges that stack on top of MFN duty for Chinese-origin goods in the same HTS categories — that gap is a major reason manufacturing has shifted to Vietnam for apparel, footwear, and electronics assembly. That said, three other tariff mechanisms can still apply: Section 232 national-security tariffs on steel, aluminum, and their derivative products regardless of origin; targeted Anti-Dumping/Countervailing Duty orders on specific Vietnamese products (solar panels and wood furniture have been frequent targets); and a broad 10% Section 122 surcharge that has applied since February 2026 following the IEEPA tariff ruling, capped at 150 days absent congressional extension and scheduled to sunset by July 24, 2026 — confirm it's still in force before quoting a rate, since it's separately being challenged in court.

The process runs through two parallel customs systems. On the Vietnam side, your supplier files the export declaration in VNACCS, which routes the cargo into a Green, Yellow, or Red inspection lane before it can gate into port. For ocean freight, your US broker must file the Importer Security Filing (ISF 10+2) at least 24 hours before the container is loaded onto the vessel — missing that window triggers an automatic $5,000 CBP penalty. While the ship crosses the Pacific, the carrier transmits the manifest to US Customs via AMS, and a few days before arrival your US broker uploads the formal entry (CBP Form 3461) into ACE, backed by a customs bond and the correct HTS classification. On arrival, CBP processes the pre-filed entry and issues a "May Proceed" release so a drayage driver can pull the container for delivery. Getting the HTS classification and entry type (formal above $2,500, informal at or below) right before the shipment departs avoids delays at any of these steps.

Yes — both commercial and personal shipments from Vietnam to the US are routine and not subject to any special restriction beyond normal customs entry, aside from the AD/CVD-flagged categories noted above and any product-specific import bans (certain agricultural products, for example, need USDA/APHIS clearance). What has changed is that the $800 de minimis exemption is suspended and written directly into federal regulation (19 CFR 10.151 and 19 CFR 145.31) effective June 24, 2026, so there's no longer a value threshold that lets a low-value parcel skip customs duty and entry — every shipment, personal or commercial, now needs a real customs entry regardless of value. For anything beyond a small personal parcel, working with a licensed customs broker to handle the ISF filing, HTS classification, and ACE entry is the practical way to keep the shipment moving without delays.