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| Southeast Asia | |
| Change your ways, or no WTO, US warns Vietnam | |
| 2005-10-29 | |
| HANOI - Vietnam's attempts to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been blocked by what the country's negotiators say are unacceptable new demands by Washington that the socialist country change the way its economy works - more than it already has. So far, Vietnam has embraced capitalism For the past 15 years, Vietnam has been changing the way it does business, though perhaps not to the extent Washington would like to see it. It has embraced market economy, attracted factory jobs from overseas, and towering new buildings have sprung up in the capital and in Ho Chi Minh City. In 2002, foreign investors poured more than US$1.2 billion into Vietnam, and the country seems all set to enter the world's official club of capitalist nations. Yet, the administration of US President George W Bush has been pressuring Vietnam to eliminate subsidies and state-owned enterprises. Talks with negotiators from Washington have broken down over what Vietnam maintains are "new conditions" introduced in recent rounds of talks. But new conditions are not the only issue. Last month, US ambassador to Vietnam Michael Marine criticized the country for not fully implementing a bilateral trade agreement that was negotiated in 2000 and also for resorting to "half measures". "The US clearly understands Vietnam's abilities and clearly understands that we cannot meet their new conditions," the country's lead WTO negotiator, Ngo Quang Xuan, recently told Vietnam's Youth newspaper, accusing Washington of a "lack of goodwill". The US has a different spin on the negotiations. "American business wants a viable deal on this accession," said Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi. "The American business community wants a deal that's good for Vietnam's future, not only for companies like Citibank and AIG [American firms] but also for Vietnamese business. If you look at what WTO ascension is about, it's about creating a climate that will make people want to invest and feel secure about putting their money here." But some observers complain that such changes could undercut what's been one of the most successful poverty-reduction campaigns in the world. The British voluntary group Oxfam International reports that in 1993 fully 58% of Vietnam' s people were impoverished. By 2002, that number had been cut in half. State-owned companies transport chemicals and fertilizers to rural families, 45% of whom are still in poverty.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Why let Commies and dictators in at all? Much of China's rise is thanks to Clinton's WTO admission. |
| Posted by: Angang Wholuling9266 2005-10-29 19:54 |