Vietnam making up for lost trading time
HANOI - Garment Company No. 10 once made
military uniforms for communist soldiers fighting the United
States in Vietnam. Now, its clients include Gap, J.C. Penney Co.
and Kmart.
A year after a landmark trade pact with the United States took
effect, the clothing maker and others like it have seen orders
from the United States spike. It is one of one of hundreds of
Vietnamese companies reaping benefits from its former enemy.
"It was an immediate impact. The buyers saw this coming, so we
had more orders immediately -- much more orders. We had to
open new assembly lines and expanded production by 25
percent," said Nguyen Huy Quang, manager of planning for the
state-owned company.
Exports to the United States have more than doubled, from about
$750 million to $1.6 billion in the first nine months of the year
since the Bilateral Trade Agreement became effective, on Dec.
10, 2001.
Meanwhile, U.S. exports to Vietnam rose by about 30 percent.
The top products were cotton, fertilizer and industrial air pumps.
The deal put Vietnam on equal standing with most other nations
in accessing the world's largest market. U.S. tariffs immediately
dropped from an average of 40 percent to 3 percent.
The past year's global economic downturn, which saw stagnant
or decreasing trade with Vietnam's other trading partners, only
highlighted the boom in trade between America and Vietnam,
which is expected to reach more than $2 billion for all of 2002.
The agreement completed a lengthy, sometimes rocky
reconciliation process that began in 1994 with the lifting of the
U.S. trade embargo against Vietnam.
As part of the deal, Vietnam was required to introduce an
unprecedented level of economic reform, foreign competition and
financial openness into its system.
The strict international standards are expected to boost Vietnam's
chances to enter the World Trade Organization.
However, the first year hasn't been without obstacles, said
Deputy Minister of Trade Luong Van Tu. Implementation has
been uneven, and a trade dispute over charges that Vietnam is
dumping catfish at below-market prices in the United States has
increased tensions, he said.
Still, Vietnam's chief export industries, especially garment and
textile companies, are thriving amid the competition.
Founded five decades ago during the Communist revolution,
Garment Company No. 10 still honors its roots. A photo of Ho
Chi Minh visiting the factory in 1959 is framed in the lobby.
By Tini Tran - The Associated Press - December 14, 2002.
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