US business slams USTR's Vietnam trade pact stance
HANOI - U.S. businessmen in Vietnam criticised a plan by
Washington to package a historic trade pact with Hanoi into an omnibus bill, saying
it could lead to a long delay in ratification.
They said the move could hurt U.S. ties with Vietnam and affect its influence in the
region.
Tom Siebert, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in
Vietnam, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick's plan to package the
Vietnam pact with other trade legislation would be "tantamount to reneging" on a
promise of early ratification when it was signed last July.
"Any further delay in submitting this landmark agreement to Congress for approval
will damage both the United States' nascent relationship with Vietnam and its
influence in this part of the world," he told a news conference.
Peter Ryder, chairman of AMCHAM's Hanoi chapter, said it was a "mystery" how
President George W. Bush could talk about benefits of trade and market access at
the Summit of the Americas in Quebec while the Vietnam pact was allowed to
gather dust.
"This is an absolute no-brainer from any free-trade perspective," he said of the
Vietnam pact. "(It) is critical for American business in the region."
The AMCHAM members said all indications were Zoellick would recommend
bundling of the trade pact with other trade legislation as part of an effort to win a
new trade negotiating authority for the Bush administration.
Siebert said the omnibus bill could take years to work its way through congress.
"We're extremely frustrated," Ryder told Reuters. The Vietnam agreement has
enough votes in Congress to pass today, but it's effectively being held hostage by
this bundling concept."
Regional support
Siebert said a younger, better-educated Vietnamese leadership that took over last
month had staked its reputation on achieving far-reaching reforms.
"The U.S. should not make it harder for these new leaders by continuing to
handicap Vietnam against its competitors in the region," he said.
U.S. regional allies like Japan, Korea and Taiwan all wanted the pact ratified as
soon as possible, Siebert said. "American sincerity and prestige in the region will
come into question if the USTR drops the ball at this critical juncture," he said.
Ryder said a Vietnam that could keep pace with dynamic neighbours would be a
force for regional stability.
"But if it continues to suffer this (trade) disadvantage as compared with its
neighbours, the growing disparities in wealth and power will continue to invite
adventurism in areas such as the oil-rich South China Sea."
He was referring to the disputed Spratly Islands, an archipelago claimed by China
and several Southeast Asian states, including Vietnam.
Last month, Vietnam's Trade Minister Vu Khoan warned Washington that Hanoi
would have to reconsider preferential tariffs for U.S. firms if the trade pact was not
ratified soon.
Corporate lawyer Frederick Burke told the AMCHAM news conference that U.S.
importers of fertiliser and computers and firms like photographic film maker Kodak
would be hurt by such a move.
Burke said he did not think U.S. criticisms of Hanoi's human rights record would
derail the Vietnam pact if it were put to Congress soon for ratification. "But if the
BTA (bilateral trade agreement) remains part of the omnibus trade bill, then yes, it
could become an issue."
On Thursday, Vietnam's Communist Party newspaper criticised the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom for recommending against
ratification of the pact before Congress had called for a "substantial improvement" in
Hanoi's rights record.
By David Brunnstrom - Reuters - May 3rd, 2001.
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