The Trump administration’s new trade deal with Vietnam aims to shut down any “backdoor” routes that allow Chinese goods to

President Donald Trump’s new trade deal with Vietnam sends a clear signal about where US tariffs on Chinese goods might ultimately land, as talks between Washington and Beijing continue following their recent truce.

The so-called “deal,” which has the character of the unequal treaties imposed on colonies in the heyday of imperialist rule in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has implications that go far beyond Vietnam.