Vietnam approves US trade pact
Another milestone in the restoration of ties between the US and Vietnam was reached last week with the ratification of the US-Vietnam Trade Pact by Vietnam's National Assembly.
In a sign of continuing tensions, however, the Assembly warned that implementation of the pact could be endangered by the Vietnam Human Rights Act, which is due to be passed by the US senate and links future US non-humanitarian aid with Vietnam’s human rights record.
Approved 278-85 by the National Assembly with 17 abstentions, the agreement was signed by the two sides in July 2000 after years of protracted negotiations. It was then ratified by US Congress and signed by President Bush in October. (See leatherbiz.com story: US terrorist attacks overshadow US-Vietnam trade pact).
In passing the trade agreement, the Vietnam National Assembly said it: "Opens a new stage in the economic and trade relations between the two countries." However, the Vietnamese assembly added that any American interference in Vietnam's internal affairs - such as the passage of the human rights act: "may do harm to bilateral economic and trade relations including the implementation of the trade agreement."
With the ratification process now complete, the agreement will be signed by the Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong next week. In early December, the two nations will exchange diplomatic notes, paving the way for implementation as early as January 1 2002.
The agreement will give the small communist nation access to the world’s largest market. Vietnamese goods and services will be afforded the same low tariffs enjoyed by most nations, dropping from an average of 40% to about 4%. In return, Hanoi will carry out a far-reaching programme of liberalisation, aimed at opening up its state-controlled markets to the US. In a wider context, by introducing an unprecedented level of financial openness, the agreement is widely seen as removing the last commercial vestige of the Vietnam War.
