# Did the UK have any trade relationship with North Vietnam during the Vietnam War? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 2, 2022, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141 "2022-04-02T05:59:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cannonkuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/1 "2022-04-02T05:59:52Z")
Was there any trade relationship between the UK and North Vietnam during the Vietnam War? Thank you in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/2 "2022-04-02T21:24:33Z")
A quick flick through a few Vietnam War books I have does not hint at anything but, as they are primarily Australian military history focussed, that is not at all definitive. However, since Australia was an active combatant I would expect that they could effectively exert pressure on Britain to maintain a trade embargo against the North. Just also looking at published trade figures [here](https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/nationalaccounts/balanceofpayments/datasets/uktradeallcountriesseasonallyadjusted), which are 1997-present, until recently UK-Vietnam exports [peacetime, unified country, good citizen] has mainly been less than 0.1% of total British trade. If there was trade in a product that was somehow still allowable in hostility to a separate country fighting your allies, perhaps some essential humanitarian good, it would be infinitesimal. ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/3 "2022-04-04T05:38:20Z")
I have read one book by an Air Force Pilot. IN his book he tells of some British merchant ships stuck in Hyphon Harbor after Nixon ordered the Minning blockade of the harbor. ---
**Author:** ![cannonkuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/4 "2022-04-04T12:31:04Z")
The account from your book could be the evidence showing the British had had trade relationship with North Vietnam. What is “Minning blockade”? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/5 "2022-04-05T03:26:25Z")
> [@cannonkuo](#): > > What is “Minning blockade”? The laying of air-dropped sea mines in Haiphong Harbor to choke off North Vietnam’s only major seaport. > **[Operation Pocket Money](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pocket_Money)** > > United States victory > American intervention > 1965 > 1966 > 1967 ---
**Author:** ![Snipe70e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Snipe70e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snipe70e)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/6 "2022-04-05T05:25:14Z")
The us blockaded the entrance to the harbor with mines so no ships could go in or out. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/7 "2022-04-05T06:35:55Z")
Good call. Chasing further than my bookshelf, the blockade of Haiphong Harbour started in May 1972 as [Operation Pocket Money](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pocket_Money). From a few contemporary British papers [behind paywalls] - the 3464 ton British ship Wishford left in time, but other ships including predominantly Russian and East European ships and a Hong Kong-owned and British-registered 5,790 ton ship Kim Seng were trapped. Its possible they were carrying British goods, or even goods made in British Hong Kong, or they could have been doing what most cargo ships did, taking stuff from A to B, then stuff from B to C etc throughout East Asia. ---
**Author:** ![cannonkuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/8 "2022-04-05T14:57:07Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Good call May I know the title of the book and the page number of the account? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2022, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/9 "2022-04-05T20:54:02Z")
Hi Canonkuo - two points to make: 1. If you belong to a local or state library service in wherever you live, you will probably get member access to electronic newspaper archives as part of the deal. Given your clear interest in recent history I think you should check that out - many of the things you ask in Straight Dope can also be explored there in detail. 2. My point earlier might not have been made clearly. Do not equate a ship’s registration [or flag] with the cargo it carries or role it plays. Merchant ships work by picking up cargoes in one place to convey to the next. The flag they fly under is generally irrelevant, otherwise Liberia and Panama would be two of the world’s great economic powerhouses. ---
**Author:** ![cannonkuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@cannonkuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannonkuo)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-uk-have-any-trade-relationship-with-north-vietnam-during-the-vietnam-war/962141/10 "2022-04-06T02:35:00Z")
Understood and thank you.