U.S. President Meets Vietnam Leader, Vows to Remove Hanoi From Restricted Lists

NY Times

US President Donald Trump (second from right in the foreground) greeting Vietnamese leader To Lam (second from right in the front row) in Washington on 19 February 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump met Vietnamese leader To Lam on Friday and pledged to work toward removing Hanoi from U.S. lists restricting access to advanced American technology, according to a summary of the talks published on the Vietnamese government’s official news website.

The meeting, held at the White House, marked the first formal in-person talks between the two leaders. It followed To Lam’s participation in the inaugural session of the Board of Peace in Washington.

The discussions came shortly after the announcement of agreements valued at more than $30 billion, under which Vietnamese airlines are set to purchase 90 aircraft from U.S. aerospace manufacturer Boeing.

Separately on Friday, President Trump announced a new 10% tariff on most imports from all countries, effective immediately. The move follows a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to strike down parts of his earlier sweeping tariff measures.



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