We track the US actions that touch Vietnam, including the final forced-labor Section 301 action and the separate investigations still open, then explain what buyers should verify by product. It's free, specific, and legally careful.
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Section 122 has lapsed: what changed
The temporary 10% surcharge expired. USTR's separate forced-labor action is now final, while the structural-overcapacity and Vietnam intellectual-property investigations remain open. Read the source-reviewed update below.
The temporary Section 122 surcharge ended at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 24. A separate forced-labor Section 301 action took effect that day; it places most non-exempt Vietnam-origin goods in a 12.5% additional-duty group.
Tariff authorities and Section 301 dockets changed quickly. Here is the record as reviewed on July 24, with historical actions separated from current ones. Dates and authorities matter more than headlines.
A July 2025 executive order announced a 20% reciprocal tariff for Vietnam and a 40% rate for goods CBP determined were transshipped. These were IEEPA tariffs. The Supreme Court later held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, so Saola does not present either rate as a current duty.
Every parcel, any value, now needs formal entry. E-commerce importers lost the tariff workaround they had relied on.
The framework described a 20% reciprocal rate and potential zero-rate treatment for listed products. The later Supreme Court decision invalidated the IEEPA tariff authority underlying that rate. Treat the framework as historical context, not a current duty instruction.
The Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The administration then used a separate Section 122 proclamation for a temporary 10% surcharge through July 24.
USTR opened a Section 301 investigation covering 16 economies, including Vietnam, concerning structural excess capacity and production. No final action had been published as of this July 24 review.
USTR opened a separate Section 301 investigation into Vietnam's acts, policies, and practices related to intellectual property. It remains a distinct open docket at this review date.
USTR published final action covering 60 investigated economies. The notice places Vietnam in the 12.5% group for most non-exempt Vietnam-origin goods, effective for qualifying entries from July 24. Product exemptions and a narrow transit rule apply.
The proclamation's temporary 10% surcharge ended at 12:01 a.m. Eastern. The forced-labor Section 301 action above is a separate legal action, not an extension of Section 122.
Vietnam Customs adopted risk-based origin inspections: C/O document review and on-site factory inspections where transshipment is suspected. Origin scrutiny now runs from both ends of the trade.
A sample of recent issues. Subscribers get these the day they ship, plus the per-HS-code impact notes.
How the notice places Vietnam in the 12.5% group, which entry dates matter, where exemptions live, and why two other Section 301 investigations remain separate.
Read issueA retrospective on the temporary surcharge's stated end date. Superseded by Issue 15 for current duty treatment.
Read issueForced labor reached final action; structural overcapacity and Vietnam intellectual property remain open. Each has a different record and status.
Read issueThe 20% and 40% rates were announced under IEEPA; the Supreme Court later held that IEEPA does not authorize presidential tariffs.
Read issueDon't read it here a week late.
Headlines move markets; HS codes move your landed cost. Every Monitor issue breaks policy down to the codes our buyers actually import. Here's the shape of one.
Impact notes are evidence and risk assessment, not a customs ruling or legal advice.
We don't just track filings. Saola runs a physical verification network inside Vietnam's Southern industrial corridor, with people standing on factory floors and reading Vietnamese documents. The Monitor is the policy edge of that work.
Our intelligence comes from US bills of lading, public registries, and documents suppliers consent to share. We never touch gray-market customs data.
Every claim carries a date, a source, and a status. We label what's verified, what's pending, and what's a judgment call.
Saola provides evidence and risk assessment, not a guaranteed customs outcome or legal ruling. The Monitor is information, not advice. We tell you what we know, how we know it, and where the uncertainty is.
When you're ready to move from monitoring to evidence, Saola verifies Vietnamese factories on the ground and gives you the proof.
You get a BOM-level input map, a substantial-transformation assessment against CBP criteria, and a documentation-readiness report. It is evidence and assessment, not a guaranteed ruling.
You get five to eight matched, physically verified Vietnamese factories, each with a full evidence dossier and an origin-risk flag.
If you're new, start with the Monitor: it's free, and it will tell you whether you even have an origin problem before you spend a dollar.