The family business · Second term · № 48
Vietnam fast-tracked the $1.5 billion Trump golf resort and its prime minister broke ground during tariff talks
“motivated us to expedite this project” Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of Vietnam (as quoted by NBC News, on Eric Trump's visit)
- Date
- , Groundbreaking ceremony in Hung Yen province, reported by NBC News and Reuters
- Subject
- Vietnam
- Benefit
- Real estate and licensing
- Government
- Vietnam
- Beneficiary
- Trump Organization
- Amount
- $5 million (brand licensing fee reported by Reuters and in Trump's financial disclosure)
- Topic
- Ethics & conflicts
- Era
- Second term
What happened
In mid-May 2025 Vietnam's government, in a decision signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha, approved the $1.5 billion Trump International Hung Yen golf and residential project on more than 990 hectares along the Red River, and on May 21, 2025 Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh joined Eric Trump at the groundbreaking, saying Eric Trump's visit had "motivated us to expedite this project" and urging local authorities to provide maximum support. The New York Times reported that the project skipped typical environmental reviews and cut short a public comment period, moving from first filings to groundbreaking in about three months, and quoted a document saying the project was receiving special attention from the Trump administration and President Trump personally; a White House spokesperson said all of the president's trade discussions were "totally unrelated to the Trump Organization." The approval came while Vietnam was negotiating to avoid a 46 percent tariff announced April 2, 2025; on July 2, 2025 Trump announced a deal setting a 20 percent tariff on Vietnamese goods. Reuters reported in August 2025 that Kinh Bac City and partners paid the Trump Organization $5 million for licensing rights, that farmers were offered $12 to $30 per square meter and rice provisions to leave the land, and that the Trump Organization would run the club but was not involved in compensation. CNBC reported in August 2026 that Trump's financial disclosure listed $5 million from the project and that it found no evidence the project influenced the tariff negotiations. Eric Trump also met Ho Chi Minh City officials on May 22, 2025 about a proposed Trump Tower in Thu Thiem. Freedom House rated Vietnam Not Free in its 2025 report.
Sources
- Trump Organization breaks ground on $1.5 billion golf club in Vietnam
- Trump Group's $1.5 billion project in Hung Yen approved for investment
- Displaced Vietnamese farmers to get fistful of dollars, rice at $1.5 billion Trump golf club
- Vietnam bypassing its own laws to fast-track $1.5B Trump golf resort amid tariffs threat, report says
- Trump's foreign licensing business booms to $59.5 million as Gulf developers pay
- Truth Social post announcing a trade deal with Vietnam
- Vietnam: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report