While Trump has paused his whopping 46 percent tariff on Vietnam, economists say the export-reliant country still faces painful decisions.

In hope of avoiding punishing U.S. tariffs, Vietnam is prepared to crack down on Chinese goods being shipped to the United States via its territory and will tighten controls on sensitive exports to China,

While the US has rolled back reciprocal tariffs on select consumer electronics, the relief does not extend to Chinese products, which continue to face a 20 per cent levy on key devices.