Representative Tran Responds to President Trump’s Trade Deal with Vietnam
WASHINGTON, DC – Just one month after the Trump Organization struck a deal to build a $1.5 billion golf course in Vietnam, President Trump announced a trade deal with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam following a conversation with To Lam. The President referred to Lam as “the Highly Respected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam” on his Truth Social account. In response, U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) issued the following statement:
“In his rush to profit from communist Vietnam, President Trump is ignoring the gross human rights abuses taking place under the leadership of the communist government. The United States has considerable economic leverage to reach a deal that benefits American economic interests and pressures the communist government of Vietnam to release prisoners of conscience and respect basic rights of free expression. I am deeply disappointed that the Trump Administration did not take this important opportunity to encourage the release of prisoners of conscience. I will continue my work in Congress to urge this administration to take decisive action to pressure the Vietnamese government to respect basic human rights.”
Representative Tran has fiercely advocated for the release of Le Huu Minh Tuan, a Vietnamese journalist and activist who was detained by Vietnamese authorities for expressing opposition to human rights abuses in Vietnam. Tran serves as Mr. Tuan’s official sponsor through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s Defending Freedoms Project, which formally allows Members of Congress to shine a light on prisoners of conscience across the world and urges accountability for unjust treatment. As his sponsor, Representative Tran wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting immediate assistance in ensuring Le Huu Minh Tuan’s freedom.
Representative Tran is the son of Vietnamese refugees who fled oppressive communist Vietnam following the fall of Saigon in 1975. He is the only Vietnamese American currently serving in Congress, and the first to represent California’s 45th Congressional District–home to the largest Vietnamese diaspora in the world. Representative Tran remains committed to defending human rights in Vietnam and across the globe.
Representative Derek Tran represents California’s 45th Congressional District. Serving his first term in Congress, Representative Tran is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and House Small Business Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee. Representative Tran is the son of Vietnamese refugees, a Veteran, and fought for consumers as an attorney before entering Congress.