At a garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City that exports T-shirts and underwear to the United States, staff were alarmed by "shocking" trade tariffs imposed on Vietnam that could severely impact their business.

A manufacturing powerhouse that counted the United States as its biggest market last year, the Southeast Asian nation was hammered with a thumping 46 percent tariff in President Donald Trump's global trade blitz.

Despite widespread fears it could be a key target over its huge trade surplus with Washington -- the third-largest after China and Mexico -- the size of the levies came as a bombshell for businesses and factory workers on Thursday.

"It's truly shocking," said Tran Nhu Tung, board chair at Thanh Cong, a factory in Ho Chi Minh City that makes clothes for DKNY and Walmart, among others.

"Especially in the textile industry, we did not anticipate (this). I thought that since Vietnam is a smaller country, the US would not impose such (high) tariffs," said Tung.

About 25 percent of his exports currently go to the United States, he added.

During the trade war between Beijing and Washington in Trump's first........

© International Business Times