U.S. puts Vietnam on highest IP concern list, signaling trade probe

The United States put Vietnam in its highest intellectual-property concern category on April 30, a move that could lead to a formal trade probe within 30 days and add fresh pressure to one of Asia’s most important manufacturing hubs. The Office of the United States Trade Representative named Vietnam a Priority Foreign Country in its 2026 Special 301 Report, the strongest signal Washington can send that it sees serious problems with IP protection and enforcement.

The designation matters because it is not just a warning label. Under the Special 301 process, USTR said it will decide within 30 days whether to open a Section 301 investigation, and if it does, it will seek consultations with Hanoi. That step could eventually lead to demands for policy changes and, if those talks fail, trade penalties. USTR also said it reviewed more than 100 trading partners for the report and placed 25 countries on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.

Vietnam’s placement stands out because it is the first time in 13 years that any country has been put in the Priority Foreign Country category. The move lands at a sensitive moment in U.S.-Asia trade relations, with American companies continuing to diversify production away from China and deeper into Vietnam’s factories, ports and logistics networks. That shift has made Vietnam more central to supply chains for electronics, apparel, software and branded consumer goods, which in turn raises the stakes if Washington starts pressing harder on enforcement, market access and border controls.

The Special 301 framework covers more than counterfeit goods. USTR says it tracks online piracy, trade secrets, forced technology transfer, market-access barriers and other systemic problems that can affect U.S. rights holders. The 2026 review followed a public hearing on February 18, and USTR said the draft report was shaped through the Special 301 Subcommittee of the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee, drawing input from U.S. embassies, agencies and stakeholders.

The report also shuffled several other trading partners. Argentina and Mexico moved from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List after improvements, the European Union was added to the Watch List, and Bulgaria was removed. But Vietnam’s listing is the headline because it turns an IP complaint into a broader trade signal, one that could test bilateral ties just as the country’s role in global manufacturing keeps rising.