Vietnam expects U.S. trade to double
SAN FRANCISCO - Vietnam expects total trade with the United States to double next year
following the implementation of a historic pact regularizing trade links between the two former enemies,
Vietnam's Trade Minister Vu Khoan said on Friday.
"This is the final stage of the process of normalization, and the beginning of the next stage," Khoan told
Reuters in an interview while visiting San Francisco for a trade promotion event.
Washington and Hanoi this week formally implemented a trade pact the two sides signed in July 2000 after
years of negotiations -- a move that allows Vietnamese exporters to compete on level terms in the world's
largest market.
The World Bank says the pact would boost Vietnam's exports to the United States by $1 billion in four
years.
Khoan was even more hopeful, saying that total trade between the two sides -- which reached about
$1.12 billion last year according to U.S. figures -- could double or even triple next year as tariffs come
down.
"Now the United States ranks very low in overall Vietnam trade," Khoan said. "It is my hope and
aspiration to increase that by two or three times over the next year."
Khoan said the reduction in U.S. tariffs on Vietnamese imports to around 4 percent from 40 percent
would be a major boost for the economy, while Vietnamese efforts to streamline laws and policies should
smooth the way for a big increase in U.S. trade and investment in the country.
In particular, the agreement is expected to boost Vietnamese export industries ranging from footwear to
textiles and furniture while providing opportunities for U.S. service providers in areas such as telecoms and
banking.
Vietnam's exports to the United States reached $821 million last year, while its U.S. imports were $368
million.
Khoan's visit to San Francisco, for an event sponsored by the California-Asia Business Council and the
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is part of a push to widen economic links following
implementation of the trade pact this week.
Hanoi and Washington were bitter enemies in the Vietnam War, which ended with a communist victory in
1975. Until 1994, Washington imposed a punishing trade embargo that seriously restricted Vietnam's
economic development and did not restore diplomatic ties until a year later.
One major U.S. deal -- a $680 million agreement between Boeing Co. and Vietnam's government for the
purchase of four 777-200ER airliners -- has already illustrated the promise of increased bilateral economic
cooperation, Khoan said, while suggesting that more big deals were in the works.
"We are talking to American companies about power stations and refineries, and we are suggesting that
they invest in petrochemicals," Khoan said. "I believe we can get some results from this soon."
Major efforts on intellectual property
Khoan said Vietnam, which is communist-ruled but increasingly market-driven, was making "major efforts"
to bring its economic rules and regulations in line with broader world practice, both to help bring in more
U.S. investment and to smooth the way for eventual accession to the World Trade Organization.
Hoping to attract more high-tech investment, the country plans to make a major push to boost its
protection of intellectual property rights, he said.
Along with agreeing a separate chapter in the U.S. pact on copyright protections, Vietnam plans to join a
number of international conventions on intellectual property rights as it seeks to crack down on
counterfeiting, he said.
"Frankly speaking, this area is very difficult for Vietnam as it is for many developing countries," Khoan
said. "It will require common effort ... but we realize the need."
Khoan said Vietnam was making strides in its plans for WTO membership, and would definitely make
good on a promise to submit by the end of the month the initial paperwork which will form the basis of
substantive negotiations with member states.
But while WTO Director General Mike Moore said last month that he hoped to see Vietnam as a WTO
member in two years, Khoan said Hanoi was prepared for negotiations on joining the trade body to take
time.
"I don't think we can say exactly when Vietnam will be able to enter the WTO ... that depends on the
process of negotiations. We do not know what will be asked of us," he said.
He added, however, that China's WTO accession this year had boosted pressure on Vietnam to follow
suit or risk being sidelined in the global economy.
"We have got to make significant efforts in this direction," he said.
By Andrew Quinn - Reuters - December 15, 2001.
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