US govt urged to reject bill against Vietnam's shrimp export
HANOI - Vietnam has asked the US government to reject the
bill H.R. 5578 against the shrimp export to the United States from some countries,
including Vietnam, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh
said on Friday.
"We ask the US government, National Assembly and politic circles to reject the
wrong bill, preventing the matter from developing in the negative direction," said
Thanh while answering a question on Vietnam's reaction to the fact that Ron Paul,
deputy of the US House of Representatives, has submitted the bill to the US House
Representatives.
After one year since Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA)took effects, the
commercial and investment relationship between the two countries has made
significant progress, benefiting the both countries, said Thanh.
It is a pity that a number of problems arose in the process of implementing the
agreement. The bill H.R 5578 not only requires to limit the quantity of the US-imported
shrimp from Vietnam and some other countries, but also bring forward measures of
financial sanctions to the countries, Thanh noted.
The spokeswoman reaffirmed that Vietnamese enterprises have not violated any
regulations of the BTA as exporting shrimp to the US market.
Vietnam holds that the bill against shrimp exporting to the US market is an action
of trade protection in contravention of the spirit of BTA, and the aspiration and
imperative interests of the people of the two countries, and of the very US consumers,
and runs counter the spirit of trade liberalization that the United States is promoting,
she stressed.
Xinhuanet - January 17, 2003.
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