The TOI correspondent from Washington: There is still hope yet for US-Iran ties. Some 50 years after the fall of Saigon, America's former enemy has achieved a distinction that would have seemed like satire in the 60s and 70s. Vietnam has now run up the biggest trade surplus with the United States - $ 114 billion in just the first --half of 2026 -- ahead of giants such as China, Mexico, and Taiwan, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2025, Vietnam ranked third after China ($ 202 billion and Mexico ($ 197 billion), but it is now on track to be the world's top exporter to the US.