Financial markets, which usually recoil at the mention of trade volatility, reacted with a sharp surge of optimism. The prospect of a zero-tariff environment between the U.S. and one of its fastest-growing trade partners acted as a powerful stimulant for retail and manufacturing stocks. Multinational giants like Nike, which maintains a vast manufacturing footprint in Vietnam, saw their shares climb by more than four percent in the wake of the announcement. Investors, who had been bracing for a period of margin compression and supply chain disruption, suddenly found themselves eyeing a potential windfall: the removal of Vietnamese barriers to American agricultural and technological exports, paired with a path toward stabilizing the flow of consumer goods back to the United States.
