US-Vietnam Trade Relations

January 17, 2006

Statement of Dorothy Dwoskin
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for WTO and Multilateral Affairs Regarding Negotiations for Vietnam’s Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO)

“We have just completed another intensive round of detailed bilateral negotiations regarding Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization.  The United States and Vietnam are working together constructively to meet our common goal of seeing Vietnam become a Member of the WTO as soon as possible.”

“Our goals this week were to capitalize on the progress that we have been making together on both the bilateral market access negotiations on industrial and agricultural tariffs and services and the multilateral issues regarding WTO rules.  We brought a large team of senior experts to Vietnam as early as possible this year, which reflects the U.S. commitment to move the process forward and get to the finish line as quickly as possible.   

Both sides worked very hard to narrow remaining differences.  We were pleased with our progress and believe the meetings this week have injected new momentum and energy into the negotiations.  We thank Minister Tuyen, his cabinet colleagues and his staff for making our trip to Vietnam so productive, and look forward to accelerating our work in the coming weeks.  After consultations at home with Congress and with U.S. stakeholders, we expect to convene again with Vietnam to continue working to resolve remaining issues.  We’ve made progress across all areas and have a specific work plan to carry us forward toward conclusion of this important bilateral negotiation.  

We are committed to completing our bilateral negotiations and continuing to provide leadership in resolving multilateral issues, such as subsidies, trading rights, intellectual property rights protection, and the commercial activities of state-owned enterprises.  We were particularly encouraged by the hard work of the National Assembly to pass much of the legislation needed for Vietnam to join the rules-based system of the WTO and are reviewing this legislation carefully.  WTO membership is in keeping with Vietnam’s newly announced Socio-Economic Development Plan, which calls for a vigorous program of economic growth, reform, and development.  Among Vietnam’s stated goals are to fully integrate into the global economy by 2010, to raise $840 billion in capital over the next five years, and to maintain a high level of growth.  We believe that commitments to reform, and liberalization as part of the WTO accession process are key to helping Vietnam meet these goals.  WTO membership will further strengthen our bilateral economic relationship by creating new trade and investment opportunities for both Vietnamese and U.S. businesses.”