US terrorist attacks overshadow US-Vietnam trade pact
In contrast to the glare of publicity surrounding China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation, the United States Senate last week quietly voted through the U.S.- Vietnam trade agreement.
The outcome of protracted negotiations, 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 U.S. 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.
