FOREIGN POLICY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VIETNAM: “When President Donald Trump pulled out of a 12-country free-trade accord in January, it upended the plans of banker-turned-entrepreneur Rose Tran in Vietnam.
Ms. Tran had raised $50 million to set up a suit factory in Ho Chi Minh City, betting on the increased access to markets like the U.S. that the Trans-Pacific Partnership was supposed to bring. ‘We were disappointed to say the least,’ said Ms. Tran, who is scrambling to remake her strategy and repay her debts.
Nearly five months later, trade experts were watching a Wednesday [5-31-17] meeting between Mr. Trump and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc for hints on how the new administration would deal with countries like Vietnam, which is counting on exports from businesses like Ms. Tran’s to help it build wealth and develop its economy.”
-John Lyons, Jacob M. Schlesinger and William Mauldin, “Vietnam Tries New Tack After Trump Kills Trade Pact: ‘Crack the U.S. on Quality’,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 1, 2017 2:33pm