By Francesco Guarascio (Reuters) -Vietnam is preparing stricter penalties to crack down on trade fraud and the illegal transshipment of goods, and has focused its inspections on Chinese products as it tries to comply with commitments made to Washington,

The US trade agreement with Vietnam reportedly lowers tariffs but lacks detail, triggering sharp warnings from Chinese officials.

The deal with Vietnam seeks to stop Chinese-made goods from transiting through the Southeast Asian country to avoid higher duties.

Vietnam will soon sign an agreement with Indonesia to boost long-term rice shipments, the Vietnamese government said on Tuesday in a statement, after exports plunged in the first half of the year. The statement came hours after Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Brazil.

Trump said the U.S. will impose a 20% tariff on Vietnamese exports to the U.S. Goods transshipped through Vietnam will get 40%.

With these moves, Trump has worked relentlessly to undermine free trade and trust that America will honor its deals. While some wrongly believe that higher taxes on imports somehow make Americans better off, the reality is that Trump is hurting Americans for no reason other than that he has confused ideas about trade.

Vietnam is a top destination for retailers and brands looking to reduce their reliance on factories in China, but has also become a target of Trump's aggressive trade policy.